TRANSPORT

Air Transport

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what resources will be available to National Air Traffic Services to ensure that it is able to carry out the airspace work in time to meet the Aviation White Paper's timetable for new runways at (a) Stansted, (b) Heathrow and (c) Birmingham; and what reports he has received of difficulties with National Air Traffic Services which might hinder this work;
	(2)  what further steps he will take to ensure the robustness of the air traffic control system in the light of the construction of the new runways envisaged by the Aviation White Paper.

Tony McNulty: The Government are satisfied—and the National Audit Office has confirmed—that last year's re-financing of NATS has put the company on a robust financial footing and that it is able to make further vital investment to expand capacity to meet future growth. Work on the investment programme has re-started and NATS will invest some £1 billion in the national air traffic control system over the next 10 years.
	I have received no reports of difficulties within the company that might hinder NATS in carrying out the airspace work envisaged for it in the Aviation White Paper. The skills and experience necessary to carry forward airspace and procedure design work in support of such initiatives are, however, highly specialised, and NATS and the BAA are currently scoping the extent of the additional work required. This will identify the specific expertise and resources required, and whether NATS will need to seek additional skills as a result of this work.

Central European Time

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment has been made of potential change in the number of road traffic accidents as a result of moving to Central European Time.

David Jamieson: The most recent is a Government commissioned report, by the Transport Research Laboratory, published in October 1988, which concluded that if the UK adopted Central European Time (CET) i.e. GMT + one hour in the winter from October to March and GMT + two hours in the summer from March to October, thereby making the evenings lighter, there could be a saving of over 100 deaths per year, and taken together with serious injuries, save well over 400 such casualties.

Correspondence

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Minister for Roads will reply to the letter from Mrs. Mich Bingham of Cumberwell Drive.

David Jamieson: There have been several letters from Mrs . Bingham, each of which were addressed to officials of the Highways Agency. All those received up to 8 June and requiring a response have been replied to.

Crime (Public Transport)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many thefts were committed on (a) the railways and (b) buses in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on the number of recorded thefts on the railways within Great Britain since 1998; information is not readily available for earlier than 1998.
	The offence of theft on the railway includes theft from the person, theft of personal property and theft of luggage. In April 2002 BTP adopted the National Crime Recording standard, which makes the reporting of crime more victim focused, and crime is assessed on the probability of such offences having taken place. A crime will be recorded if on the balance of probability: (a) the circumstances as reported amount to a crime defined by law and (b) there is no credible evidence to the contrary. The introduction of this standard accounts for a proportion of the rise between 2001–02 and 2002–03.
	
		
			  Total number of thefts 
		
		
			 1998–99 19,018 
			 1999–2000 26,075 
			 2000–01 23,670 
			 2001–02 24,632 
			 2002–03 32,035 
			 2003–04 31,149 
		
	
	No data is held centrally regarding the number of thefts committed on buses. However, it is known that there were 254 robberies from bus crews in 2001 and 294 in 2002. The Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel (STOP) has been established to look at ways to combat assaults, anti-social behaviour and vandalism at stops and stations and on vehicles and property. The Panel brings together those involved in dealing with the issue of safety and security, and includes operators, local authorities, police and unions. It is charged with the important task of facilitating the exchange of ideas and spreading best practice and is considering how the collection of accurate bus and coach crime data can be improved.

Cycling (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of new cycle lanes have been provided using public funds in Rochdale since 1997.

Tony McNulty: A total of 10 miles of new cycle lanes in Rochdale have been provided using public funds since 1997.

Driving Licences

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were informed by the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency that they are required to resit their driving test because they failed to apply for a full licence within two years of passing their original test in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: Information is not collected showing the number of drivers who have failed to claim their full entitlement within two years and have needed to retake their driving test. The Agency has tackled this in varying ways, including the issuing of reminders to drivers with unclaimed entitlement and more recently by adjusting the fee structure to allow updated licences to be issued free of charge.
	DVLA and DSA will introduce a scheme later this year to streamline the process and remove the problem of unclaimed test passes. In most cases, the system will allow the updated licence to be issued automatically following a successful test, without the need for a separate application.

Flight Time Limitations

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his letter reference MC/015200/03 of 25 September 2003, what his latest assessment is of the value of the Flight Time Limitations Requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mr. Lazarowicz) on 14 June 2004, Official Report, columns 696–97W.

Intelligent Speed Adaption Systems

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants the Department has given to the research and development of Intelligent Speed Adaption Systems; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport has not given any grants for the research and development of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems.
	Research into ISA is being carried out as part of the Department's managed vehicle safety research programme. The project began in 2001 and is expected to conclude in the autumn of 2006 at a cost of £1,951,525. An advanced digital map supporting the on-road ISA trials is funded by a separate contract at a cost of £158,383.
	The main aim of the current project is to study drivers' behavioural adaptation over time. A trial of 20 ISA equipped cars is currently under way in Leeds.
	A further project supports the main research and the general development of ISA nationally and internationally by providing expert advice on an ad hoc basis.
	The Government currently has no plans to make the use of intelligent speed limiters compulsory. We hope that industry will take up the technology in response to public demand.

Parking

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much income has been derived by local authorities from parking (a) charges and (b) penalties in each financial year since 1997–98 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by local authority; and what proportion was collected through penalty charge notices in each of these years.

Tony McNulty: Separate statistics on income derived by local authorities from parking charges and penalties are not collected centrally. Total income and expenditure on parking by local authorities in England since 1997–98 is shown in the following table. I have arranged for tables giving a break down by authorities for each year to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	
		£000
		
			  Total income Total expenditure net Current expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 638,483 415,659 -222,824 
			 1998–99 654,685 407,503 -247,183 
			 1999–2000 725,184 438,277 -286,907 
			 2000–01 782,210 465,921 -316,287 
			 2001–02 861,152 518,453 -342,699 
			 2002–03 966,350 586,101 -380,249

Pedestrian/Cyclist Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many pedestrians were injured as a result of collisions between pedestrians and cyclists on footpaths and pavements in each of the past three years;
	(2)  what research his Department has undertaken into problems caused by cyclists using footpaths and pavements;
	(3)  what research his Department has undertaken into the concerns of older people about cyclists using footpaths and pavements;
	(4)  what guidance he has offered to police forces about (a) prevention of cyclists using footpaths and pavements and (b) steps to be taken against those cyclists who do use footpaths and pavements.

Tony McNulty: The statistics on casualties in accidents between cyclist and pedestrian on a footway between 1999 and 2002 (the latest figures) are set out in the following table:
	
		Casualties
		
			 Severity 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Killed 1 0 0 0 
			 Serious 25 17 16 14 
			 Slight 61 48 38 37 
			 All 87 65 54 51 
		
	
	Cycling on the pavement is an offence under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 as amended by section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1888. Enforcement is a matter for the police. Guidance on matters relating to police enforcement is a matter for the Home Secretary and for individual Chief Constables to issue.
	The police have powers to prosecute cyclists who cycle illegally on footpaths and footways. Cycling on the pavement can also be dealt with by Fixed Penalty Notice system (£30 fine). The police also have powers to prosecute cyclists riding carelessly or dangerously.
	We have not undertaken specific research on the problems caused by cyclists using footpaths and pavements, or the related concerns of older people. The existence of such activity demonstrates a need to accommodate cyclists wishing to gain access to destinations currently served by pedestrian-only routes and we advise local authorities that they should first attempt to satisfy this demand by improving conditions for cyclists on the road network. Where this is impracticable, the solution is to formally change the status of footpaths or footways so that cyclists can legally use them. This decision is not taken lightly and such conversions often require physical changes to ensure the routes can operate safely. To this end, we have commissioned research which investigated the operation of routes formally intended for use by both cyclists and pedestrians. The purpose of this was to inform the preparation of updated advice to local authorities on this issue in the form of a revised Local Transport Note (LTN). We have also contributed to research conducted on behalf of the Countryside Agency which examined the level of interaction between these user groups on off-road routes. The latter showed that while the perception of conflict on these routes was significant, actual conflict was not. In producing the revised LTN, we are aiming to improve physical conditions on these routes and hence reduce the perceived level of conflict.

Ports (Security)

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether foreign vessels that have not complied with the International Ship and Port Facility Security code will be denied entry to British ports after the internationally agreed implementation date of 1 July; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 26 April 2004, Official Report, column 782W, to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

Potters Bar Train Accident

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on whether to hold a public inquiry into the Potters Bar train accident; and if he will make a statement on progress to date of the investigation.

Tony McNulty: I understand that the Health and Safety Executive's investigation team is expected to report to the Investigation Board in September or October 2004. The relevant prosecuting authorities will then review all the evidence to determine whether criminal prosecutions should be commenced. When that has happened, the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to take the decision on whether or not to hold a public inquiry.

Railways (Crime)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answers of 12 May 2004, Official Report, columns 399W and 408W, on crime prevention and railway crimes, what method he used to calculate a fall of 32 per cent. in vandalism on the railways in 2002–03.

Tony McNulty: The 32 per cent. reduction in vandalism on the railways in 2002–03 was calculated by the Rail Safety and Standards Board. This was based on the number of malicious acts on the Network Rail controlled infrastructure recorded by Railway Group members using the Safety Management Information System (SMIS). The percentage reduction was calculated by comparing the previous year's total for the number of malicious acts against the total for 2002–03.

Road Safety (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the percentage change in (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries on roads in Rochdale has been since 1997; and what the percentage change was in each case regarding people of Asian origin.

David Jamieson: The available information relates to local authority areas. In the Rochdale local authority area there were 16 deaths in road accidents in 1997 and 11 deaths in 2002, the latest year for which information is available. The number of serious injuries rose by 1 per cent. from 83 in 1997 to 84 in 2002.
	Information on the ethnic origin of casualties in road accidents is not available.

Road Schemes

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the road schemes (a) in the Targeted Programme of Improvements and (b) submitted for funding through the Local Transport Plan Process between 1999–2000 and 2002–03, giving for each (i) the cost of the scheme when it was first submitted for approval and (ii) the most recent estimate or final cost of the scheme.

David Jamieson: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is listed in the tables which have been split by (1) Targeted Programme of Improvement schemes and (2) local transport major road schemes.
	Differences in scheme costs between first submission and most recent estimate can be due to differences in the basis on which costs have been calculated as well to underlying increases in-the cost estimate. As a result direct comparisons between these cost estimates may not be meaningful.

Travel Costs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in tabular form the relative changes since 1974 in the cost of (a) motoring, (b) travelling by bus and (c) travelling by train, measured against changes in average disposable income.

David Jamieson: The following table shows the changes in the cost of transport and household disposable income. Indices are shown in real terms and based to 1974 = 100.
	
		£
		
			  All motoring(1) Rail Bus Household disposable income 
		
		
			 1974 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 
			 1975 104.4 109.2 104.9 101.2 
			 1976 101.2 124.3 114.9 100.6 
			 1977 99.9 125.0 114.1 98.6 
			 1978 99.7 132.0 119.4 105.8 
			 1979 104.0 128.8 118.4 112.0 
			 1980 103.8 135.6 127.0 114.0 
			 1981 103.9 138.6 125.6 113.4 
			 1982 101.0 146.5 133.3 113.0 
			 1983 103.2 148.5 134.7 115.4 
			 1984 100.7 142.0 131.1 119.6 
			 1985 99.4 142.4 128.9 123.8 
			 1986 94.7 147.0 135.2 128.9 
			 1987 96.3 148.4 137.4 133.5 
			 1988 95.9 151.3 140.1 140.9 
			 1989 93.9 153.2 140.2 147.5 
			 1990 91.0 152.2 135.1 152.7 
			 1991 92.3 158.8 145.5 155.7 
			 1992 95.0 164.2 150.2 160.1 
			 1993 97.6 173.0 154.3 164.5 
			 1994 98.5 176.3 154.6 166.9 
			 1995 97.0 178.1 155.0 170.7 
			 1996 97.5 180.3 156.9 174.9 
			 1997 99.6 178.9 157.6 182.2 
			 1998 99.3 180.1 157.3 182.8 
			 1999 100.2 183.8 160.6 188.6 
			 2000 101.0 181.6 162.3 200.4 
			 2001 98.7 185.3 166.1 209.6 
			 2002 96.3 186.5 168.5 213.2 
			 2003 94.8 184.3 170.6 218.2 
		
	
	(1) 'All motoring' includes the cost of purchase, maintenance, fuel, tax and insurance.
	Source:
	Retail Price Index and National Accounts, Office for National Statistics.

DEFENCE

BAE Systems

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when (a) he and (b) the Permanent Secretary of his Department first became aware of allegations that a member of the Saudi armed forces project of the Ministry of Defence was provided with free holidays and gifts by BAE Systems between 2000 and 2002.

Geoff Hoon: The Permanent Secretary was made aware of the allegations on 5 April 2004 and the issue was brought to my attention later that month.

BAE Systems

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Permanent Secretary in his Department decided that no investigation was required after he received a letter from the then director of the Serious Fraud Office on 8 March 2001 regarding allegations of fraud involving BAE Systems; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram) on 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 429W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) and to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb).

BAE Systems

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) the Permanent Secretary in his Department held discussions with Sir Richard Evans, the chairman of BAE Systems, on the provision of free holidays and gifts by BAE Systems between 2000 and 2002 to a civil servant in the Saudi armed forces project of the Ministry of Defence; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: There have been no discussions with Sir Richard Evans on the allegations of misconduct involving a former, but now retired member of the Saudi armed forces project. The allegations are properly under investigation by the Ministry of Defence Police, and the MOD and we will consider what further action is necessary if any once the results of this investigation are available.

Departmental Expenditure (Entertainment)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his latest estimate is of the amount spent by his Department on entertainment in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05.

Ivor Caplin: Details of cash expenditure on entertainment by the Ministry of Defence in each year from 1996–97 to 2001–02 were provided in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 885W. Final outturn on a resource basis, which is not directly comparable with previous cash figures, for 2002–03 was £7.32 million. The provisional outturn for FY 2003–04 is £7.99 million. Expenditure on entertainment and hospitality will vary for a number of reasons, but has been rising in line with the Strategic Defence Review intention to increase engagement with other countries through defence diplomacy, aimed at preventing conflict and increasing international stability. Planned expenditure for this financial year, after allowing for the effect of inflation, is expected to be the same, or lower, than the outturn in FY 2003–04.
	Expenditure incurred on entertainment is strictly for official purposes only, and is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Faslane

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why secondary monitoring for all those leaving nuclear submarines is not mandatory at HM Naval Base Clyde Faslane.

Adam Ingram: Comprehensive arrangements, which comply fully with legal requirements and have been approved by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, are in place to ensure the safety of all personnel working on nuclear submarines. Personnel exiting the reactor compartments must be monitored before they are permitted to leave the submarine (by suitably qualified and experienced workers) using hand-held instrumentation capable of detecting very low levels of radioactive contamination. This monitoring is precautionary as work procedures and protective clothing are designed to minimise the chance of becoming contaminated. Secondary monitoring (using a walk-through monitor), which takes place after the worker has completed primary monitoring and removed his protective clothing, is compulsory when contamination is suspected or found.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State of 4 May 2004, Official Report, column 1211, if he will make a further statement to the House on the Special Investigation Branch inquiries into alleged abuse of Iraqi civilians.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I made on 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS.
	Since then it has been announced in another place that one case, involving four soldiers, will be brought to trial. A further case is now pending a decision on prosecution.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his statement of 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS, on Iraq, what the names are of the individuals whose deaths are among the cases where a decision whether to prosecute is pending.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 June 2004
	In my statement of 8 June 2004, Official Report, columns 4–5WS, I referred to seven cases pending a decision to prosecute on 4 May. Since then a further case has come under consideration as referred to by my noble and learned Friend the Attorney-General in a statement in another place on 15 June. Of the eight cases now under consideration, five cases involve deaths. The names of the individuals are: Hassam Abbad Saied, Baha Musa, Zaher Sabti Zaher, Ali Salaam and Nadhem Abdullah.

Trident Replacement

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what design studies have been commissioned to find a replacement for Trident nuclear submarines.

Geoff Hoon: As set out in paragraph 3.11 of the 2003 Defence White Paper (Cm 6041–1), decisions on whether to replace Trident are likely to be needed in the next Parliament. In the meantime, we will continue to take appropriate steps to ensure that the range of options for maintaining a nuclear deterrent capability is kept open until that decision point. This will include appropriate design studies.

Working Time Directive

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Admissions/appeals

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list, for each English local education authority, in each of the last five years, the costs of the administration of (a) primary and (b) secondary school (i) admissions and (ii) appeals.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect this information. The administration of school admissions and admission appeals is the responsibility of individual admission authorities. LEAs must delegate funding for the administration of admissions and admission appeals to governing bodies of schools that are admission authorities or carry out the administration on their behalf.

Broadband

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the disadvantages to students whose schools do not have access to broadband services.

Charles Clarke: My Department is well on the way to achieving the ambitious Government target of making broadband available to over 23,000 schools in England by 2006. This is a substantial and complex task.
	Excellent progress has been made during the last two and a half years. As at March 2004, 60 per cent. of schools (98 per cent. of secondary schools and 53 per cent. of primary schools) have access to broadband. We are on schedule to connect the remainder by 2006 as planned.
	In the meantime, those schools that don't yet have broadband have access to a narrower, but still significant, range of resources and collaborative opportunities through standard Internet connections. They also have access to off-line multimedia resources as can be found on Curriculum Online and funded using eLearning Credits. We are supporting teachers in the use of such resources through the National Strategies.
	We are encouraging schools not scheduled to be upgraded to broadband until towards the end of 2006, and which have expensive ISDN connections, to adopt more cost-effective, interim solutions.

Broadband

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanism his Department has put in place to monitor the roll-out of broadband to schools.

Charles Clarke: My Department works with the 10 Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs) to procure and roll out broadband connections to schools. Becta (the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) collects LEA broadband connectivity statistics, supplied by the RBCs, which are compiled and released on a quarterly basis.
	As at March 2004, 60 per cent. of schools (98 per cent. of secondary schools and 53 per cent. of primary schools) have access to broadband. The Government's target is to connect all schools to broadband by 2006.

Correspondence

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action he proposes to take in response to the letter to him by Mr. John Wright, of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, of 6 February.

Margaret Hodge: The Department wrote to Mr. Wight on 17 February confirming that the complaints against five local education authorities made in his letter would be taken up individually with each of the authorities concerned. The Department wrote to Mr. Wright again on 30 March, having concluded its investigations of East Sussex local education authority, to confirm that the complaint against the Authority had not been upheld. Further information is awaited from the remaining authorities to enable the Secretary of State to reach decisions on the outstanding cases. We expect to receive this shortly.

Food Technology

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reform the food technology curriculum taught in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: We are working with colleagues across Government to tackle key health issues, including bringing together all aspects of food education, such as nutrition, diet, cooking, food hygiene and safety for pupils of all ages. Food education is taught through science, food technology, and Personal, Social and Health Education and we will consider any curriculum implications in the light of our cross government work on this important area.

Learning and Skills Council

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions his Department has had with the Learning and Skills Council on the recently issued guidelines to limit college franchising arrangements with work-based learning providers; what steps he is taking to ensure that the provision of high quality training is safeguarded; and if he will take steps to ensure the early substitution of direct contracting between local learning and skills councils and the affected providers.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 14 June 2004
	My officials have not had detailed discussions with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) about the guidelines to local LSCs concerning the funding of franchised further education provision. The LSC is responsible for establishing and developing a robust and diverse network of providers to meet the needs of communities, learners and employers. My ministerial colleagues and I, with the support of officials, ensure the LSC carries out its responsibilities through regular meetings, reporting and review arrangements. As contracting decisions are the operational responsibility of the LSC, Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend detailing the arrangements adopted to ensure changes to franchised activity are handled smoothly.

Tuition Fees

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations the Government have received from students in year 12 and their parents planning to take a gap year who will pay tuition fees if they secure deferred places at universities; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 14 June 2004
	My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations from students, their parents and others about the tuition fees to be paid by students who choose to defer their entry from 2005 to 2006.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Planning Decisions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which planning decisions were overturned by his Department in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; and which of these concerned development on brownfield sites.

Keith Hill: The table details the number of recovered appeals allowed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its predecessor department in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and the number of these which concerned development on brownfield sites.
	
		
			 Type of development Number of recovered appeals allowed Number on brownfield sites 
		
		
			 Appeals allowed in 2001   
			 Retail 5 4 
			 Residential 9 7 
			 Vehicular Access 1 1 
			 Offices 2 0 
			 Minerals 2 0 
			 Footbridge 1 1 
			 Waste incinerator 1 1 
			 Gypsy/showmen site 4 1 
			 Listed Building 6 n/a 
			 Other 1 0 
			 Totals 32 15 
			
			 Appeals allowed in 2002   
			 Retail 1 1 
			 Residential 7 5 
			 Hospital 1 0 
			 Offices 1 0 
			 Wind turbine 1 1 
			 Rail freight terminal 1 1 
			 Waste disposal 1 1 
			 Gypsy/showmen site 2 0 
			 Water booster station 1 0 
			 Listed building 4 n/a 
			 Totals 20 9 
			
			 Appeals allowed in 2003   
			 Residential 12 4 
			 Offices 1 0 
			 Minerals 1 0 
			 Footbridge 1 1 
			 Gypsy/showmen site 18 0 
			 Warehousing 1 0 
			 Laboratory 1 1 
			 Menage 2 0 
			 Aircraft hanger 1 0 
			 Educational 2 0 
			 Subway 1 1 
			 Electricity substation 1 0 
			 Agricultural development 1 0 
			 Gas regulator 1 0 
			 Listed building 14 n/a 
			 Other 2 2 
			 Totals 60 9 
		
	
	Figures for 2001, 2002 and 2003 concerning transferred appeals allowed by Inspectors, on behalf of the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister are tabled as follows. Information on which of these developments were on brownfield land is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of transferred appeals allowed As a percentage of total appeals 
		
		
			 2001 4,535 36 
			 2002 5,115 37 
			 2003 6,015 33.5

Postal Voting

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the process is for reimbursing local authorities for the extra costs of conducting all-postal pilots in the June 2004 elections.

Nick Raynsford: The process is set out in Schedule 3 of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (All Postal) Pilots Order. Regional and local returning officers will be able to claim reimbursement for services properly rendered, or expenses properly incurred, for or in connection with the European election by submitting an account to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister within six months of the election. Insofar as the local elections in principal areas or parishes within the pilot regions are concerned, returning officers will be able to claim "local election pilot expenditure" from my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. That will include any expenditure which is apportioned to the local election under section 15(4) of the 1985 Act, which exceeds the expenditure which he would have incurred if the electoral region within which the election (and any election the poll at which is combined with that election) is held had not been specified in section 1(3) of the 2004 Act i.e. had not been one of the pilot regions.
	Returning officers may claim advance payments prior to the election. In these cases, the balance is settled after the election when the final costs are submitted.

Second Homes

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his plans for an interim permanent residence policy affecting the purchase of second homes.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises the need for affordable homes for local residents in supporting balanced and sustainable communities. It is not part of our policy to address this need by removing the basic right of willing sellers and willing buyers to sell and buy property.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Staff

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people have left employment in his Department because of (a) anxiety, (b) stress, (c) depression and (d) other mental health reasons in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.
	No staff have left employment in the Office because of anxiety, stress, depression or other mental health reasons.

Early Retirement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees in his Department took early retirement in the last financial year; and at what total cost.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office incurred no costs in relation to early retirements in 2003–04. All staff in the Office are on loan from other Government Departments or other bodies, who remain their employers.

Secondments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department and its agencies were seconded from the (a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years.

Anne McGuire: Two staff joined the Scotland Office on secondment from the private sector in 2002–03. No staff have been seconded from the academic sector.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fixed Penalty Notices

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions Merseyside local authorities have issued a fixed penalty notice for noise disturbance in each year since 1996.

Alun Michael: Merseyside local authorities have not issued any fixed penalty notices for noise disturbance since 1996.

Animal Movements

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement about hauliers picking up animals in multi pick-up and drop-off sites;
	(2)  how many multiple (a) pick-up and (b) drop-off licences have been issued in each of the last three years; what period they cover; how many have been renewed in each year; and if she will review the need to continue issuing these licences;.
	(3)  if she will make a statement as to how hauliers can find out whether the farmers for whom they pick up and drop off animals hold the required licence; and what provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 apply in these circumstances.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answers 14 June 2004
	Any livestock vehicle taking livestock on to a farm and then off again as part of a multiple pick-up or drop-off movement risks spreading disease, either to the animals if disease is present on the farm, or to animals on the farm if disease is present in the animals on the vehicle.
	Each farm wishing to bring stock on as part of a multiple drop-off or to move stock off as part of a multiple pick-up is required to do so only from an approved point on the farm premises. The approved point has to meet standards designed to minimise the spread of disease.
	Approvals are not time limited; they remain in force until such time as the approved point ceases to meet the standards set. All approved points are approved both for multiple pick-ups and multiple drop-offs. As at 9 June 2004, there were 14,313 approved multiple pick-up and drop-off points in England and Wales.
	Given the need for continued biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of disease there are no proposals to amend the requirement that multiple pick-ups and drop-offs take place only from approved points.
	There are two approved methods for loading or unloading stock, one of which involves the use of trailers. These are set out in detail in each of the General Licences for the movement of livestock, and are available on the Department's website at www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/movements/sheep/sheep-
	annexesa-c.pdf
	It is for each haulier to satisfy himself that the points to which livestock is being delivered in a multiple drop-off, or from which they are collected in a multiple pick-up, are approved for the purpose. This might be done by checking with the keeper of the livestock at the time of agreeing the haulage contract. For these reasons, there are no data protection issues for this Department. My officials would be pleased to consider with the haulage industry how this information might be made more widely available.

Animal Movements

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many hauliers have been prosecuted for picking up animals from farms in a multi pick-up vehicle without a licence approved by her Department; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many drivers employed by hauling companies have been prosecuted in each of the last three years for failing to adhere to the requirements relating to multiple pick-up licences.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answers 14 June 2004
	Vehicles do not require a licence from this Department before being used in multiple pick-ups of livestock. Any prosecution relating to failure to comply with the provisions relating to multiple pick-ups or drop-offs is a matter for the local authority.
	Information on the number of prosecutions of hauliers for failing to observe the livestock movement provisions relating to multiple pick-ups and multiple drop-offs has been held centrally only since February 2004, since when five prosecutions have been brought. However, this Department has been made aware of five prosecutions of hauliers for offences involving multiple pick-ups or multiple drop-offs in the period between October 2003 and February 2004.
	This Department does not hold information as to whether the person prosecuted was the driver of the vehicle concerned.

Bathing Water Quality

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the bathing water quality statistics were for beaches in the UK in each of the last 20 years, broken down by region.

Elliot Morley: Comparable bathing water quality statistics for beaches are only available from 1987 after the number of bathing waters within the scope of the EC bathing water directive was substantially increased. Percentage compliance with the directive's main microbiological standards was as follows:
	
		Percentage
		
			  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1987 56 65 57 64 
			 1988 65 52 77 88 
			 1989 75 70 83 100 
			 1990 79 52 70 94 
			 1991 74 65 88 100 
			 1992 79 65 76 94 
			 1993 79 78 82 94 
			 1994 83 70 76 94 
			 1995 89 83 88 94 
			 1996 89 91 91 100 
			 1997 88 78 94 88 
			 1998 90 52 94 94 
			 1999 90 88 99 100 
			 2000 94 85 99 100 
			 2001 98 85 93 81 
			 2002 99 92 100 94 
			 2003 99 95 99 100 
		
	
	A more detailed summary of bathing water quality statistics has been produced every year since 1986 and placed in the Library.

Bovine Brain Diseases

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on recent deaths of cattle from unidentified viral brain diseases.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 14 June 2004
	Following a post-mortem examination of a suspect case of botulism in a Holstein yearling heifer in September 2003 on a farm in Cumbria, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VA) identified a viral-type encephalomyelitis on histological examination. Examination for the most common neurotropic viruses in the UK proved negative. It was decided that veterinary practitioners should be informed by a letter to the Veterinary Record that suspect botulism cases in cattle might be viral in origin. As background for the letter an examination of VLA records with similar histological findings was carried out. This revealed 21 similar cases of polioencephalomyelitis in cattle and sheep (20 ovine 1 bovine) but with different clinical presentations from 13 premises in England over the past 10 years. The Cumbrian case was reported to the UK Zoonoses Group (UKZG) which considers possible public health action with regard to existing and emerging zoonotic infections. The UKZG suggested that the Health Protection Agency (HPA) be asked to use its recently developed risk assessment algorithm to assess public health implications once more information on the case has been collated. In the light of this decision and the 21 other cases Defra has now asked the HPA to lead a risk assessment to human health on the new condition.

Ceramics Industry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will urgently provide to the ceramic industry the data on individual installation carbon dioxide allocations needed to assist them in their decisions on Phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 7 June 2004
	In the National Allocation Plan published on 6 May 2004, we explained to stakeholders that installation-level allocations would be made available in late July/early August, once we have had an opportunity to incorporate comments received during the recent consultation. However, in response to a direct request from the European Commission, the UK has provided additional information relating to its NAP, including a list of provisional installation-level allocations to the Commission. This information has been provided to allow the UK NAP to be considered with the first group of NAPs later in the summer and so assist the Commission in adopting a rigorous approach when scrutinising other member state's NAPs.
	This list of provisional installation level allocations has been prepared on the basis of information available at the time of submission. We have explained to the Commission that the allocations are likely to be subject to technical revision following the outcome of our consultation exercise.

Cremation

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce the emissions of mercury from crematorium chimneys; and if she will make it her policy to ensure that the emission of mercury from cremation ceases at an early date.

Alun Michael: The Department consulted on a review of the technical issues relating to emissions of mercury from crematoria in May 2003 and published a summary of responses and initial conclusions in November 2003. These can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/crematoria/index.htm. We propose to issue a further consultation paper containing proposals to address mercury emissions from crematoria shortly.

Cremation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much mercury is estimated to have been released into the atmosphere in the UK each year as a result of cremating mortal remains containing mercury-based tooth fillings since (a) 1979 and (b) 1997; what assessment she has made of the environmental impact from these releases; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Based on monitoring and expert advice, the amount of mercury emitted per cremation ranges between 0.9 g and 3 g. We are currently attempting to achieve more precision, but based on these figures, total UK mercury emissions from crematoria in 2002 will have been between 0.4 and 1.34 tonnes. We do not have estimates for other years: the mercury content might have varied according to the differences in the dental situation of those cremated, and account would have to be taken of any changes in the numbers of cremations.
	Total UK mercury emissions have declined from 44.9 tonnes in 1970 to 8.8 tonnes in 2000. The Department consulted on a review of the technical issues relating to emissions of mercury from crematoria in May 2003 and published a summary of responses and initial conclusions in November 2003. These can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/crematoria/index.htm. We propose to issue a further consultation paper containing proposals to address mercury emissions from crematoria shortly.

EC Water Framework Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to integrate the delivery of biodiversity action plans into river basin management plans under the EC Water Framework Directive.

Elliot Morley: Demonstrating how biodiversity targets can be integrated into river basin management has been allocated top priority for the Water and Wetlands implementation programme of the England Biodiversity Strategy. The Environment Agency and English Nature will shortly be commisioning a project to take this work forward, with results scheduled for March 2005. The River Ribble will be used as a test-bed for the work, reflecting its role as a pilot catchment for public participation aspects of the Water Framework Directive.

EC Water Framework Directive

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to draw up a register of existing and potential wetlands to help meet the requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive.

Elliot Morley: The Water Framework Directive requires that a register of protected areas is drawn up to help determine management of water bodies. This register will include protected wildlife sites of wetland character such as those designated as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the Birds Directive and candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Habitats Directive. The Environment Agency, in its role as competent authority for the Water Framework Directive, English Nature and others are actively exploring ways of how best to incorporate wetlands into integrated river basin planning and management. The River Ribble catchment is being used to test such an approach, which if successful, could be applied more widely in due course.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether radioactive forcing will be taken into account in plans to incorporate aviation within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Elliot Morley: I assume that the hon. Member intended to ask about radiative forcing.
	It is the Government's intention to address the radiative forcing of aviation in fulfilling its Air Transport White Paper commitment to ensure that the aviation industry takes account of, and where appropriate reduces, its contribution to global warming. A decision on how the radiative forcing of aviation should be taken into account when designing the sector's participation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme has yet to be made. Our adopted approach on this issue will reflect the need for consensus within the EU.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list (a) hunt kennels, (b) knacker's yards, (c) renderers, (d) maggot farmers and (e) others approved to collect fallen stock under the EU Animal By-Products Regulations;
	(2)  how many (a) hunt kennels, (b) knacker's yards and (c) renderers are approved under the EU Animal By-Products Regulations to collect and process fallen stock in each county in England;
	(3)  how many constituencies in England have no approved fallen stock collector based within its boundaries.

Ben Bradshaw: Although information regarding the location of fallen stock collection and disposal premises is available, this is not kept in a format which would allow their relationship to county and constituency boundaries to be ascertained However, the State Veterinary Service is currently working on a national Geographic Information System database which will, on completion, be capable of providing such information.
	To allow premises to continue operating whilst individual inspections for approval were being carried out by the State Veterinary Service (SVS), animal by-product premises, including hunt kennels, knackers yards and rendering plants are subject to a series of general approvals.
	The general approvals do not apply to premises which have been granted or refused an individual approval under these Regulations since 1 July 2003. For other premises the general approvals cease to apply either when the premises are inspected and an approval is either granted or refused, or on 1 August 2004, whichever is the earlier.
	Prior to the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003, which came into force on 1 July 2003, Knackers' Yards required approval under the Animal By-Products Order 1999.
	Hunt kennels, zoos and maggot farms required registration under the Order.
	In June 2003, before the Animal By-Products Order was revoked, there were 63 approved knackers' yards, 34 registered maggot farms, 90 registered zoos/circuses and 294 registered hunt kennels—not all hunt kennels collect and/or dispose of fallen stock.
	As of 1 April 2004, 13 rendering plants are approved under the Animal By-Products Regulations to process fallen stock. These are listed at Annex 1.
	My officials have arranged for a list of those premises which were approved or registered, prior to 1 July 2003, by the Department to collect/dispose of animal by-products such as fallen stock, to be placed in the Library of the House. This list will be amended as and when premises are either granted or refused individual approvals under the EU Regulation.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of hunt kennels (a) charge for provision of a fallen stock service and (b) provide a fallen stock service free of charge to the livestock farming industry.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not available to the Department, although we are aware that a number of hunt kennels may provide a free service, normally disposal of calves which die on farm, in return for farmers allowing hunts to use their land.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral answer of 20 May 2004, Official Report, columns 1079–80, on fallen stock, what evidence her Department has received to support the statement that the role of hunt kennels in collecting fallen stock is small.

Ben Bradshaw: Many hunt kennels traditionally dispose of calves, which are the most suitable livestock for feeding to hounds, although some may take small numbers of horses, sheep and other livestock. As hunt kennels do not operate in all areas of the UK and calves are estimated to form only a small percentage of the overall quantity of fallen stock that requires disposal the role of hunt kennels in collecting and disposing of fallen stock under the National Scheme is likely to be small.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the postal address for the National Fallen Stock Company is.

Ben Bradshaw: The postal address is the registered office for the Company which is the National Fallen Stock Company Ltd., c/o Saffery Champness, Stuart House, City Road, Peterborough, Cambs, PE1 1QF.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral answer of 20 May 2004, Official Report, column 1080, on fallen stock, what evidence she has received from the Chairman of the National Fallen Stock Company in support of his assurance that a ban on hunting would have no impact on the industry's capacity to dispose of fallen stock.

Ben Bradshaw: In discussions that my Department has had with the Chairman, he has stated that in the Company's consultation with the knacker and rendering industries it was made clear that they have the capacity to deal with additional quantities of fallen stock likely to arise under the National Fallen Stock Scheme. It is true that the Company has registered a substantial level of interest in the Scheme from hunt kennels. Although they will be permitted to continue their current practice of feeding material to hounds, their presence in the Scheme will otherwise be on the basis that they have made the necessary investment to operate in a similar way to knackers yards for the collection and disposal of fallen stock.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many carcases were collected by (a) hunt kennels, (b) knackers yards, (c) renderers, (d) maggot farmers and (e) others in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not held by the Department.

Focus Groups

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of total expenditure by her Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs came into being in June 2001 and information, prior to that period, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	While information is not held in the format requested, centrally-held records show that we have spent in the region of £345,000 on external market research and focus group research since Defra's creation in June 2001.

Fur Farming

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date she expects compensation to former fur farmers to (a) begin and (b) be completed.

Ben Bradshaw: We are currently consulting on a draft Order that will enable us to set up the new compensation scheme. The Order sets out a timescale for payment. We expect to have made the majority of compensation payments by the end of the year.

General Agreement on Trade in Services (Drinking Water)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Department for Trade and Industry regarding the exclusion of drinking water from the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 April 2004
	The Department has been fully consulted by the Department for Trade and Industry at all stages of the GATS negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), including the EU draft offer and requests on services.
	The GATS negotiations are conducted on a request and offer basis, in which one WTO Member makes a request and the requested Member considers how to respond. Requests are no more than that. A country to whom a request has been addressed is not obliged to meet the request, whether fully, partially or even at all. Therefore it is entirely up to an individual member as to whether they include drinking water in their GATS offer.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to announce emissions reductions targets for greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The UK has a target under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2008–12. The six gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.
	The Government has also set itself a domestic goal of moving towards a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by 2010 and is putting the UK on a path to a 60 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
	The Government has no current plans to set itself targets to reduce emissions of other greenhouse gases. The UK's domestic goals focus on carbon dioxide, as it is the most important greenhouse gas in the UK, accounting for 85 per cent. of the direct global warming potential of emissions in 2002. Although we have not set a target beyond 2008–12 for non-CO 2 greenhouse gases, we will continue with our efforts to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has evaluated on the Irish bovine TB experiment.

Ben Bradshaw: The Republic of Ireland Department of Agriculture has not yet published scientific papers on the findings a four-year badger culling trial (the "Four Area" Trial). The trial involves eliminating badgers over large areas to ascertain the effect on the incidence of bovine TB.
	We will look closely at the Irish results once published to establish what we can learn and apply to the situation in Great Britain.

Squirrels

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the geographical incidence of grey squirrels in England; and what data is held by her Department on the spread of populations of grey squirrels since the species' introduction.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 10 June 2004
	The first documented release of grey squirrels into the UK was in 1876 in Cheshire, with subsequent introduction to sites ranging from Glamorgan to Kent totalling more than 350 individuals. Grey squirrels are now present in every English county and absent only from parts of Cumbria and Northumberland, a small area of the Sefton coast, the Isle of Wight and Poole harbour islands.
	Numbers of grey squirrels fluctuate considerably between years. However, the population was estimated at 2.5 million in the 1990s and it is likely to have increased since then as their range has expanded. Through the Tracking Mammals Partnership, funding has been secured from both Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Peoples' Trust for Endangered Species for a scoping study to investigate monitoring strategies for squirrels to address these issues.

Squirrels

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of grey squirrels on indigenous flora and fauna; and what recent research studies into the ecological effects of grey squirrels her Department has carried out.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 10 June 2004
	The impact of the introduced grey squirrel on the native red squirrel is well known. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the spread of the grey has been closely linked with the decline and disappearance of the red squirrel from most of England. Although the two species may co-exist in some areas for many years, it seems that sooner or later the greys will dominate and the reds disappear. The exact mechanism for this replacement is not entirely clear; some recent work confirms the importance of interspecific competition, but a disease, parapox virus, which is harmless to greys but fatal to reds, may also be involved.
	Squirrel presence surveys carried out by the Forestry Commission since the 1950s recorded the presence of bark stripping damage to individual tree species in woodlands. During 2000 a survey of private and state owned woodlands within the distribution range of grey squirrels in Great Britain further investigated damage levels by recording damage severity. Current studies are investigating the effect of grey squirrel bark stripping damage to oak in terms of tree growth rates.
	The review "Possible effects of grey squirrels on birds and other wildlife", published in British Wildlife in February 2004, reviewed evidence of predation by squirrels on birds' eggs and nestlings, potential competition with birds for nest sites and food and competition with native mammals. Possible effects on woodland structure through their bark stripping activities and as a predator of tree seeds and bulbs were also considered.

Squirrels

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of grey squirrels on the geographical incidence of the indigenous red squirrel population in England.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 10 June 2004
	Historical data show red squirrels to have been ubiquitous throughout England until the 1920s. Since the grey squirrel was released in the late 19th and early 20th century and their subsequent spread, the red squirrel has suffered a concurrent range contraction.
	The red squirrel seems to have made some small gains in the Yorkshire Dales, where it has been able to expand into plantations that are now maturing and producing good crops of the pine cones that it needs.
	The continuing expansion of the grey squirrel is to be expected and red squirrel conservation is focused on limiting that expansion in areas where the two species overlap. Some significant progress has been made in developing more effective and targeted ways of defending healthy populations of red squirrels against replacement by the grey squirrel.

Whales

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will support the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) sponsored project to study the behaviour of whales in the sea off the West Coast of Iceland; and if she will make representations to the Icelandic Government to persuade them to accede to IFAW's request to undertake this research.

Ben Bradshaw: The request by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to the Government of Iceland for permission to study the behaviour of whales in the sea off the West Coast of Iceland was made through our embassy at Reykjavik. Our ambassador has since raised the application in contacts at senior level at both the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister. The Government of Iceland can be in no doubt of Her Majesty's Government's full support for this request and the aims and objectives of the IFAW sponsored project. We will continue to press for a favourable response.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Lenient Sentencing

Michael Meacher: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases, where the sentence was judged to be unduly lenient were referred, (a) Crown Prosecution Service HQ Directorate, (b) Treasury Counsel and (c) to the Legal Secretariat of the Law Offices and to himself, in each of the last three years; how many cases were accepted by her for review by the Court of Appeal and how many were rejected; and in how many cases the Court of Appeal accepted that the sentence was unduly lenient and (i) increased the sentence and (ii) did not increase the sentence.

Harriet Harman: Set out in the following table are details of the data held by the CPS Casework Directorate and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers which represent figures for the last three calendar years. The figures in line one represent the total defendants whose sentences were referred to Casework Directorate. The figures in line two onward represent the total defendants whose sentences were referred to LSLO by the CPS and by other prosecuting agencies. Figures are not kept regarding whether cases were referred to Treasury Counsel for advice.
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Total defendants whose sentences were referred to Casework Directorate 287 375 323 
			 Total defendants whose sentences were referred to the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 277 340 316 
			 Total defendants whose sentences were considered by the Law Officers 234 290 272 
			 Total defendants whose sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal 149 134 97 
			 Total defendants where Court of Appeal refused leave 8 2 2 
			 Total defendants where leave given but Court of Appeal held sentence not unduly lenient 12 17 (2)3 
			 Total defendants where sentence held unduly lenient by Court of Appeal 129 115 (2)60 
			 Total defendants where sentence held unduly lenient and sentence increased 97 91 (2)53 
			 Total defendants where sentence held unduly lenient and sentence not increased 32 24 (2)7 
		
	
	(2) To date

Potters Bar Rail Crash

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the work to date of the Crown Prosecution Service in respect of the Potters Bar Rail accident; and what further work she envisages the CPS undertaking.

Harriet Harman: A joint investigation by the British Transport Police and the Health and Safety Executive into the causes of the rail accident began immediately after the derailment on 10 May 2002. The police led this investigation due to a suspicion that a serious criminal offence caused the deaths, and between June 2002 and March 2004 the Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with the police advising them on the evidence submitted and to be obtained.
	In March 2004, the lead in the investigation transferred to Health and Safety Executive investigators, as no evidence of a deliberate criminal act or gross negligence causing the deaths had been established against any individual. The emphasis of the investigation is now on systems and procedures, areas that fall within the specialist skills and experience of these investigators.
	At the conclusion of their inquiries, the Health and Safety Executive will review the evidence and reach a prosecution decision. The Crown Prosecution Service is on hand to advise the police, but only if evidence of a serious criminal offence comes to light would the case be passed back to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider.

CABINET OFFICE

Panel for Regulatory Accountability

Archie Norman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what provision has been and will be made for publicising (a) the decision by the Panel for Regulatory Accountability whether or not to clear a given regulatory proposal and (b) the grounds on which the decision was made;
	(2)  what provision has been and will be made for publicising the decisions of the Regulatory Impact Unit regarding whether a particular regulatory proposal requires clearance from the Panel for Regulatory Accountability;
	(3)  if he will list the regulatory proposals which have been deemed by the Regulatory Impact Unit to require clearance from the Panel for Regulatory Accountability during the past three months;
	(4)  how many times the Panel for Regulatory Accountability (a) has met in the past year and (b) is scheduled to meet in the forthcoming year.

Douglas Alexander: It has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, under exemption 2, of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Royal Hall, Harrogate

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding central Government will make available to pay for the restoration of the Royal Hall in Harrogate; and if she will make a statement on Government support for the restoration.

Estelle Morris: Central Government funding for the historic environment is channelled through English Heritage. Both English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund run a number of grant schemes that provide assistance for the preservation of listed buildings of historical and architectural importance. These organisations are responsible for the allocation of funds within these schemes at arms length of Government. In the case of the Royal Hall, Harrogate, the Heritage Lottery Fund is discussing with Harrogate borough council how best to secure the building's future.

TV Licensing Authority

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under what powers the TV Licensing Authority is permitted to demand access to people's homes to check whether or not they possess a television; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: TV Licensing officers may enter a person's home only with their consent or under a warrant issued under section 366 of the Communications Act 2003 by a justice of the peace, or, in Scotland, a sheriff. Such a warrant may be issued only if there are reasonable grounds for believing that an offence related to the installation or use of a television receiver has been or is being committed.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

E-mail

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee what further steps are to be taken by the Parliamentary Communications Directorate to limit the amount of spam e-mails received by hon. Members, peers, and their staff; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Key: Plans to introduce a new improved spam management system are well advanced. The Parliamentary Communications Directorate aims to introduce the new system, which will offer a more comprehensive service than at present, before the summer recess.

PRIME MINISTER

Arctic Medal

Mike Hancock: To ask the Prime Minister when he last requested a review of the requests to award an Arctic Medal; and what process was followed.

Tony Blair: Earlier this year, my hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence (Mr. Caplin) reviewed all the recent claims from veterans for new medals, including the campaign for an Arctic Medal. Those who served in the Arctic convoys were awarded the Atlantic Star in respect of their service.
	However, the Government are keeping medals for various groups of veterans under review

Ministerial Documents

Michael Ancram: To ask the Prime Minister what recent review has been undertaken concerning the prioritisation and distribution of documents that are marked for Ministers' attention by their private offices.

Tony Blair: I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 621W.

Second World War Commemoration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Prime Minister what plans the Government have to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the announcement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans Affairs (Mr. Caplin) on 9 June 2004, Official Report, column 309.

Stormont Negotiations

Lady Hermon: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of the negotiations conducted at Stormont on 8 June between representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Fein and Mr. Jonathan Powell.

Tony Blair: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Murphy) had made it clear that informal discussions with all parties would continue during the European election campaign. The review of the operation of the Agreement resumed on 15 June and the outcome we are working towards remains the restoration of the institutions.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Aerospace

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the extent of state support for the aerospace industry in (a) the United States, (b) European Union member states and (c) Brazil in comparison with Government support for UK aerospace.

Jacqui Smith: The Government are aware of various forms of support provided by a number of other governments to their civil aerospace industries (e.g. basic RD, product development capital or export sales financing). International comparisons are complicated by the way in which that support is focussed and whether it is repayable.
	The Government have provided strong support for the aerospace industry in the UK over many yearsincluding support for RD projects, repayable launch investment (almost l billion since 1997) and export sales financing. We are also working with the industry to improve its productivity and competitiveness through the implementation of the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team Report's recommendations.

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the volume of trade was between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan in each year since 1979.

Mike O'Brien: The volume of trade between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan since 1979 is contained in the following table.
	
		UK Trade with Afghanistan -- 000
		
			  UK Exports UK Imports 
		
		
			 1979 9,570 20,274 
			 1980 6,831 20,159 
			 1981 7,725 22,892 
			 1982 9,341 20,619 
			 1983 10,310 19,836 
			 1984 11,891 20,775 
			 1985 13,882 52,060 
			 1986 11,443 11,913 
			 1987 10,735 11,288 
			 1988 12,109 11,501 
			 1989 5,376 4,813 
			 1990 7,816 9,194 
			 1991 6,956 5,207 
			 1992 4,926 4,676 
			 1993 5,915 4,310 
			 1994 7,830 4,096 
			 1995 7,156 1,165 
			 1996 7,581 2,707 
			 1997 9,579 2,948 
			 1998 10,565 2,535 
			 1999 3,624 1,769 
			 2000 3,251 8,493 
			 2001 3,812 564 
			 2002 2,851 249 
			 2003 9,871 467

Deregulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the need for reduced, simpler regulation expressed by her Ministers at the Competitiveness Council of 17 to 18 May refers to (a) deregulation or a cutting back of the Community Acquis and (b) the removal of legal texts that are obsolete without changing their legal status.

Jacqui Smith: The UK attaches great importance to improving and simplifying EU legislation. Simplification can contribute to reducing the negative economic impact of regulation through consolidation and codification of legislation, and through removing obsolete measures. In addition, it is concerned with identifying areas of legislation where burdens may arise from unnecessary complexity, duplication or cross-impacts, and seeking to eliminate these.

Energy Bill

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of the European Commission about the possibility of investigations into the implications for state aid of provisions contained in the Energy Bill.

Stephen Timms: The main state aid implication in the Energy Bill arises from the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA). DTI officials have had a number of informal meetings with the Commission services on this case.
	As a result of these meetings a formal notification of the UK's intention to support the creation of the NDA was submitted to the European Commission in December 2003. The Commission are still considering this case.

EU Trade

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value of surplus or deficit accruing to the European Union from trade with Japan was in each of the three latest years for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: Figures on the European Union's crude trade balance in goods with Japan for the period 200103 are given in the table.
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 2001 -19,505 
			 2002 -16,248 
			 2003 -18,483 
		
	
	Source:
	Eurostat Intra and Extra EU Trade.

EU Trade

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of the surplus or deficit accruing to the European Union from trading with (a) India and (b) China was in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: Figures on the European Union's crude trade balance in goods with India and China for the period 200103 are given in the following table:
	
		 million
		
			  India China 
		
		
			 2001 -187 -28,488 
			 2002 588 -29,945 
			 2003 599 -38,269 
		
	
	Source:
	Eurostat Intra and Extra EU Trade.

Israel

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of UK imports from Israel was in each of the last five years; what proportion of total imports were defence-related; and what proportion of total imports were from the Occupied Territories.

Mike O'Brien: According to statistics compiled by HM Customs and Excise, the information is as follows:
	
		
			 Imports of goods 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 UK imports from Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories ( million) 1,041 1,062 975 911 882 
			 Defence-related imports, as a percentage of total imports 0.9 1.7 1.2 0.6 0.5 
			 Imports from Occupied Palestinian Territories as a percentage of total imports 0.004 0.000 0.012 0.026 0.050 
		
	
	Source:
	Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, HM Customs and Excise.

Israel

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of UK exports to Israel was in each of the last five years; what proportion of total exports were defence-related; and what proportion of total exports were destined for the Occupied Territories.

Mike O'Brien: The information is as follows:
	
		
			 Exports of goods 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 UK exports to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories ( million) 1,298 1,519 1,366 1,440 1,377 
			 Defence-related exports, as a percentage of total exports 0.03 0.09 0.11 0.15 0.02 
			 Exports to Occupied Palestinian Territories as a percentage of total exports 0.023 0.009 0.018 0.008 0.050 
		
	
	Source:
	Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom; HM Customs and Excise.
	UK Strategic Export Control Annual Report; FCO, DFID, MOD, DTI.

Medical Research Council

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to implement the concordat agreement for funding for Medical Research Council clinical trials.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The concordat is a long standing agreement between the health departments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Medical Research Council (MRC). It has recently been renewed, now to be called a partnership agreement and a copy will be posted on the websites of the Department and the MRC shortly. Implementation is done through normal operational arrangements.

UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees of the Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary are members of a trade union.

Stephen Timms: As far as I am aware, no members of the UKAEA Constabulary are members of a trade union. About 80 per cent. belong to the UKAEA Police Federation.
	About 55 per cent. of the civilian staff of the UKAEA Constabulary are members of a trade union.

Post Office Reinvention Programme

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what mechanisms she adopts to monitor the compliance by Post Office Ltd. with its agreement with her that 95 per cent. of the urban population will be within one mile of a post office at the completion of the Urban Reinvention Programme when it is implementing stages of that programme in urban areas;
	(2)  what action she intends to take to ensure that 95 per cent. of people in Birmingham will be within one mile of a post office at the completion of the Post Office Urban Reinvention Programme.

Stephen Timms: Compliance with the commitment that at least 95 per cent. of the urban population nationally will still live within one mile of a post office at the end of the urban reinvention programme is an operational responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond direct to the hon. Member.

Regional Funding (Greater London)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list projects within the Greater London area which have attracted European Union regional funding in each of the last three years.

Jacqui Smith: Thousands of London projects have benefited and will benefit from European funding from the Objective 2, Objective 3, URBAN, EQUAL and INTERREG European Programmes. Between 2000 and 2006, London will receive over 650 million from these European Structural Funds and Community Initiatives, matched by similar sums from the public and private sectors.
	A list of these projects has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Scrap Aluminium

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of scrap aluminium was exported in (a) 2003 and (b) 2000.

Jacqui Smith: Exports of aluminium waste and scrap increased from 141.2 thousand tonnes in 2000 to 297.4 thousand tonnes in 2003 1 . The requested percentages cannot be calculated as there are no official figures for the quantity of aluminium waste and scrap collected (including new scrap).
	 1 Source:Overseas Trade Statistics, HM Customs and Excise.

Kenya

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of trade between the UK and Kenya was in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: According to information published by HM Customs and Excise, in 2003 UK imports of goods from Kenya were worth 217 million. UK exports to Kenya were worth 172 million. Information on trade in services, with Kenya, is not available.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Child Psychiatrists

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many consultant child psychiatrists are undergoing training in Northern Ireland; and when each is expected to complete training.

Barry Gardiner: There are currently eight specialist trainees in child and adolescent psychiatry. Of these three are expected to complete their training in 2004, two in 2005 and three in 2006.

Cross-Border Bodies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which cross-border bodies funded in whole or in part by a Northern Ireland Department publish the minutes of their meetings on their websites.

Paul Murphy: The Loughs Agency, an agency of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission publishes minutes of meetings on its website (www.loughs-agency.org). To date it has published the minutes of five Board meetings.

Cultural Venues

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when building work will commence on the Arts Venue for the Cathedral Quarter; what the anticipated completion date is; what the estimate cost of the project is; and what additional funding has been identified as necessary to ensure the viability of the project.

Angela Smith: A business case is currently being considered for a new purpose-built cultural and educational facility in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. No decision has yet been taken on whether the proposal should proceed. The capital costs of the project are currently estimated at between 23 million and 27 million. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has made an in-principle commitment of 4 million of National Lottery funds towards these costs. Current projections suggest that additional revenue funding of over 1 million would be required in the initial three-year period before the facility becomes fully operational and meets its income potential.

Driving Instructors

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the views expressed in response to the Approved Driving Instructors Review consultation paper.

Angela Smith: Preliminary analysis of the responses indicates that there is widespread opposition from the Approved Driving Instructors industry to the proposal that registered driving instructors should undergo a driving theory test, including a hazard perception test, as part of routine supervisory arrangements.
	The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency is currently considering the responses in detail and in due course will make a recommendation to me, taking into account all relevant issues including the views of the industry.

Driving Instructors

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times (a) he and (b) other Government officials have met representatives of the Northern Ireland Approved Driving Instructors Association regarding the proposals contained in the Approved Driving Instructors Review consultation paper.

Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Ministers have not met with the Northern Ireland Approved Driving Instructors Association (NIADIA) regarding the proposals contained in the consultation paper.
	(b) Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency attended a meeting of the association on 16 February 2004 at which the proposals were discussed. The agency also held meetings in Cookstown, Newry, Londonderry, Belfast and Omagh in late March. These meetings were attended by approximately 300 driving instructors, many of whom were members of NIADIA or other associations. The proposals within the paper were discussed at all of these meetings. In addition, a scheduled biannual meeting between the agency and NIADIA took place on 4 May 2004.

Electoral Register (Fermanagh)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in the Fermanagh South Tyrone constituency have been excluded from the electoral register on grounds of insufficient mental capacity in each of the last three years.

John Spellar: This issue is an operational matter and is, therefore, the responsibility of the Chief Electoral Officer. He will be writing to the hon. Gentleman in due course.
	A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on decisions to withdraw treatment from hospital patients.

Barry Gardiner: The decision to commence or end treatment is made by clinical staff on an individual basis, taking account of the patient's clinical condition and the relative merits and potential side effects of any particular treatment. Informed consent is an important element, as are a patient's personal wishes regarding treatment and resuscitation.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure that all patients requiring MRI scans are receiving them promptly.

Barry Gardiner: MRI provision in Northern Ireland is being enhanced to reduce waiting times for patients. There are currently seven MRI scanners available across the Province and three more are planned for later this year at Antrim, Craigavon, and Belfast City hospitals. A number of measures have also been taken to reduce waiting times for MRI scans including the introduction of evening scanning sessions at the Royal Group of Hospitals, use of mobile scanners, and use of private facilities.

Higher Education

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Government income from Northern Ireland-domiciled undergraduates' contributions in tuition fees, student loan repayments and interest on student loans has been since 199596.

Barry Gardiner: Tuition fees are paid by students directly to their institutions, and therefore no income is generated for Government. On the basis of Resource Allocation Budgets, student loan repayments and interest on student loans from 200102, the earliest date from which information is available, are set out in the table, which also includes, for each year, the total amount of student loans outstanding:
	
		 million
		
			  Repayments Interest Outstanding loans 
		
		
			 200102 9.264 6.231 321.647 
			 200203 11.564 6.034 424,223 
			 200304 13.000 9.533 517,839 
		
	
	Unlike commercial loans, interest on student loans is charged at the rate of inflation only. This ensures that, in real terms, the amount repaid is equal to the amount borrowed.

Identity Cards

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether Northern Ireland will be included in an identity card scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The Identity Card scheme involving the registration of individuals and the issue of identity cards will operate on a UK-wide basis. If, as we hope, we can restore the devolved institutions at an early date, then it would be up to the devolved administration in Northern Ireland to decide what use they make of the identity cards.

Identity Cards

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether Northern Ireland was considered for the identity card pilot project.

Paul Murphy: The biometric enrolment pilot being run by the UK Passport Service is not an identity cards pilot but rather intended to test the processes around, and user experience of biometric enrolment. Identity cards are not being issued to volunteers who participate in the project. Initially, pilot data is being obtained from fixed sites in England and Scotland. In the next phase of the pilot, a mobile enrolment unit will travel throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Inward Investment

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria are used by Invest Northern Ireland in determining locations for visits by potential inward investors to create employment in Northern Ireland.

Barry Gardiner: Invest NI promotes and markets the Northern Ireland business proposition as one single entity. The rationale for this approach is that internationally mobile investment is fiercely competitive and potential investors demand detailed information against a wide range of criteria such as size of employment pool, skills availability, property and infrastructure.
	Taking into account the time available Invest NI can suggest a visit programme which closely matches a company's requirements. The locations of existing investors, who participate in the inward visits, also influence the proposed visit programme. However, the company always has the final say in which elements of the proposed programme to accept or reject including where to visit within Northern Ireland.
	Invest NI is fully aware of its obligations in respect of securing visits to and projects in New Targeting Social Need areas, and addresses this in its illustrative incentive packages.

Juvenile Offenders

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many minors in Northern Ireland have been questioned and cautioned in each of the last five years.

Ian Pearson: The information is as follows.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of official cautions 
		
		
			 19992000 1,325 
			 200001 1,314 
			 200102 1,095 
			 200203 1,045 
		
	
	The PSNI introduced a new Youth Diversion Scheme from 1 September 2003 which provides a new framework to respond to all children and young persons under the age of 17. The scheme uses restorative interventions and the title and structure of the previous official caution is now called a restorative caution.
	No statistics are available for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 August 2003.
	Since 1 September 2003 there have been 485 restorative cautions issued under the new scheme.

Lord Alderdice

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the likely cost to public funds is of the portrait that has been commissioned of the former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lord Alderdice; and who recommended the commissioning of the portrait.

Paul Murphy: The proposal that a portrait be commissioned to mark the retirement of the former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lord Alderdice, was proposed at a meeting held earlier this year attended by representatives of the main Northern Ireland political parties. I subsequently agreed to this proposal. Arrangements for commissioning the portrait have still to be made so the cost is not yet known.

Natural Gas

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation to grant a licence for the supply of natural gas in the north-west and south-north areas.

Barry Gardiner: Detailed negotiations between the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAER) and Bord Gis Eireann about the distribution and supply of natural gas to towns outside the Greater Belfast area have been continuing since December 2003. NIAER expects to publish a licence for consultation within the next two months and, subject to responses, would hope to issue a formal licence in the early autumn of this year.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the participants in each case supported by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in which the cost to the Commission has exceeded 50,000.

John Spellar: As the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent body, I contacted the Chief Executive on behalf of the hon. Gentleman and have been provided with the following information:
	The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has supported two cases in which the costs have exceeded 50,000. Details of the cases and participants follow:
	1. Cullen (Appellant) v. Chief Constable of the Constabulary (Respondent) (Northern Ireland)
	Heard: 10 July 2003
	UKHL 39
	Counsel was Seamus Treacy QC and Fiona Doherty BL instructed by Madden and Finucane Solicitors
	2. In the matter of an application for judicial review by 4E' and in the matter of the decisions of the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Secretary of State
	Heard: 10 September 2003
	Decision: Not yet known
	Counsel was Seamus Treacy QC and Karen Quinliven BL instructed by Madden and Finucane Solicitors.

Parliamentary Constituency Maps

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make up-to-date maps of Northern Ireland parliamentary constituencies available to the House of Commons Library Research Section.

John Spellar: The Provisional Recommendations for new parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland were announced by the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland on 29 April. Copies of up-to-date maps for the proposed constituencies have been placed in the Library.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland officers work for the (a) Oversight Commissioner and (b) Police Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: There are no Police Service of Northern Ireland officers working in either the Oversight Commissioner's Office or the Police Ombudsman's Office.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) salary and (b) expenses allowance is of (a) the Policing Oversight Commissioner and (b) each member of the Oversight Commissioner's team.

Ian Pearson: I have been advised by the Office of the Oversight Commissioner of the following salary and expense details for the Oversight Commissioner and his team of five evaluators:
	(a) The Commissioner's salary from May 2000-March 2003 was 203,290.
	The evaluators' salaries from May 2000-March 2003 were 350,602.
	(b) The Commissioner's expenses from May 2000-March 2003 were 101,043.
	The evaluators' expenses from May 2000-March 2003 were 330,571.
	The Oversight Commissioner and his team of evaluators are based in North America. They travel to Northern Ireland three times per year to conduct evaluations of the implementation of the Patten Recommendations. In addition, occasional short review meetings are held by the Oversight Commissioner and the evaluators in North America.
	The expense allowances for the Oversight Commissioner and his team of evaluators are primarily made up of accommodation and flight costs. These are paid directly to suppliers by the Office of the Oversight Commissioner and are subject to seasonal and contractual variations. The figures have been obtained from the audited annual accounts of the Office of the Oversight Commissioner.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated for the (a) start-up costs and (b) running costs in the first two years of the Office of the Northern Ireland Policing Oversight Commissioner.

Ian Pearson: The Office of the Oversight Commissioner was established in May 2000. The start up costs were 224,770.
	Running costs in the first two years to 31 March 2002 were 947,027, broken down as follows:
	200001: 272,131 (excluding start-up cost)
	200102: 674,896.

Police Fund Budget

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the Police Fund budget has been spent in support of (a) RUC officers injured and (b) RUC families bereaved through terrorism in each year since its establishment.

Ian Pearson: I can advise that the percentage breakdown of the Police Fund budget in support of injured officers and bereaved families is as follows:
	
		Direct grant expenditure as a percentage of budget
		
			 Category 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Injured officers 36 40 
			 Bereaved families including widows 17 17 
		
	
	A further 28 per cent. of the 200203 budget and 18 per cent. of the 200304 budget was expended on organisation project costs such as reimbursement of costs to the Benevolent Fund and client service costs such as psychological counselling services. This expenditure, in the main, cannot be broken down into individual client costs although clearly the programmes benefited both injured officers and bereaved families.

Rural Communities (Transport)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action the Government are taking to assist older people in rural communities who do not have access to a car.

John Spellar: The Department for Regional Development's commitments to improving transport services in rural areas are set out in the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 200212.
	The Strategy seeks to improve travel opportunities for people living in deep rural areas, villages and small settlements. The initiatives in the RTS, when fully implemented, will reduce inequalities in society by improving accessibility for, amongst others, people with disabilities, people without access to a car, older people and people living in rural areas. The pace of implementation of the Strategy will depend on the level of public funding, which will be determined through the annual Budgetary processes.
	The Department is seeking to improve transport opportunities for older people living in rural communities through a range of initiatives. The Rural Transport Fund provides revenue support to maintain a network of some 44 Ulsterbus rural routes, throughout Northern Ireland, which would otherwise be uneconomical to run. Older people are able to get free concessionary travel on these rural services.
	The Department also financially supports 18 Rural Community Transport Partnerships throughout Northern Ireland. These seek to meet the mobility needs of those older people and people with disabilities who live in rural areas and who are unable to make use of conventional transport networks.
	In 200304 the Department for Regional Development initiated a public tendering exercise (Bus Challenge) to attract new stage carriage routes across Northern Ireland. Contracts were awarded for a number of rural routes. These routes provide older people living in rural areas with more opportunities to access local facilities and link with the wider public transport network.
	Later this year the Department intends to initiate several Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) pilots in deep rural areas. It is hoped that these types of services will offer greater independence and new travel opportunities for older people living in those areas. DRT services may, for example, divert off certain sections of their route if requested and provide bookable door-to-door services for older people and people with disabilities.
	The RTS committed the Department to prepare an Accessible Transport Strategy for Northern Ireland. The ATS will focus on the transport needs of older people and people with disabilities. A draft Accessible Transport Strategy is currently being prepared and will be published in the autumn together with an Equality Impact assessment for public consultation. The Department aims to publish a final strategy by March 2005.

Rural Communities (Transport)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been allocated by the Department for Regional Development in each of the last three years towards the provision of public transport in rural communities in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: Under the Rural Transport Fund the following monies were allocated to deliver uneconomic public transport services in rural areas but which were regarded as socially desirable:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200102 1.6 
			 200203 1.7 
			 200304 1.8 
		
	
	This Fund allowed the Department to provide revenue support to uneconomic rural routes. In addition the Fund also provides further support to 18 Rural Community Transport Partnerships who offer a range of transport services which complement the conventional transport networks.
	The Department for Regional Development recently initiated a public tendering exercise (Bus Challenge) to attract new stage carriage routes across Northern Ireland. As a result a number of contracts were awarded and which included a number of rural routes. Financial support from the Department for these rural routes during 200304 amounted to around 29,000.
	Fuel Duty Rebate was also provided to Ulsterbus and a number of private operators:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200102 5,933,750.00 
			 200203 5,798,369.00 
			 200304 5,892,531.00

Tourism

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tourists visited Northern Ireland in each (a) year and (b) month in the past 20 years.

Barry Gardiner: A breakdown of the total number of non-Northern Ireland tourists over the past twenty years has been placed in the Library. Monthly breakdowns are not available for visitors entering Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland, or prior to 1990 for visitors entering Northern Ireland directly.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what lessons he learned about the operation of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission during his recent visit;
	(2)  what conclusions he has drawn from his trip to South Africa in relation to the suitability of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: I had a range of very constructive meetings with a variety of individuals and organisations during my recent visit to South Africa. I am sure that they will prove useful as I consider ways in which we can deal with the past in Northern Ireland. There are many interesting lessons to be learned from the South African experience, and I will be reflecting on these. But any solution must be tailored to the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland and must command widespread support.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Active Communities Unit

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Active Community Unit's expenditure on research was in 200304, broken down by topic.

Fiona Mactaggart: The following expenditure on research was commissioned by the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate on behalf of the Active Community Unit (ACU) in 200304:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 ACU: programme evaluations  
			 Compact/Codes of Practice: Implementation 29,526 
			 Mentoring Fund and Mentor Points projects 90,442 
			 Capital Modernisation Fund 3,000 
			 Volunteer-involving organisations: TimeBank,  Do-It, Community Channel (Media Trust) 72,000 
			   
			 ACU: VCS funding and performance  
			 Central Government funding, 200102 to 200304 46,278 
			 Local government funding, 200102 to 200304 34,633 
			 State of the Sector Panel: Development Project 12,593 
			 State of the Sector Panel: Fieldwork Project 631,982 
			 What works re community involvement in  area-based initiatives 25,400

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the consequences of a youth breaking an antisocial behaviour order are.

Hazel Blears: Breach of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) is a criminal offence. The usual range of sentencing options for juveniles up to the maximum is available, with the exception of a conditional discharge which is not available for breach of an ASBO. The maximum penalty for breach of ASBO for 12 to 17-year-olds is a 24-month Detention and Training Order. 10 to 11-year-olds can be given community orders for ASBO breaches (these are not custodial).

Asylum/Immigration

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 March 2004, Official Report, columns 156768W, on asylum and immigration, for what reasons people are referred to medical inspectors; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in referrals seen at Heathrow.

Des Browne: Under Schedule 2 paragraph 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 (c.77), immigration officers have the power to refer any individual who is subject to immigration control to a doctor for a medical examination at the port of entry.
	Under paragraph 36 of the Immigration Rules (HC395 as amended)
	A person who intends to remain in the United Kingdom for more than 6 months should normally be referred to the Medical Inspector for examination. If he produces a medical certificate he should be advised to hand it to the Medical Inspector. Any person seeking entry who mentions health or medical treatment as a reason for his visit, or who appears not to be in good mental or physical health, should also be referred to the Medical Inspector; and the Immigration Officer has discretion, which should be exercised sparingly, to refer for examination in any other case.
	However, the long-standing policy (formalised by the 1992 Department of Health publication Medical Examination under the Immigration Act 1971: Instructions to Medical Inspectors) is that normally only those who:
	(i) are seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom for 6 months or more and have come from countries where there is a high risk of having been exposed to infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis; or
	(ii) mention health or medical treatment as a reason for seeking entry to the United Kingdom, or appear unwell are referred for medical examination.
	Only Heathrow and Gatwick have a permanent medical inspector. At other UK ports where there is no permanent medical inspector doctors are available on-call.
	There has been no change in the policy for referral of passengers to the medical inspector. It is not possible to provide reasons for the increase in the numbers referred without conducting a full and detailed analysis which would be at disproportionate cost.

Asylum/Immigration

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum to the UK have been made in each year since 1979, broken down by nationality.

Des Browne: The table shows the number of applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality, 19942003 the latest published data. Information for previous years is published in successive editions of the Home Office annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, copies of which are available from the Library of the House, and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The nationalities provided in the publication have changed to some extent over the years, reflecting changes in the nationalities applying for asylum. Provision of a consistent set of data for all nationalities, for data back to 1979, would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		Applications(3) received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by nationality, 19942003
		
			  Number of principal applicants 
			 Nationality 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999(4) 2000(4) 2001(5) 2002(6) 2003(6) 
		
		
			 Albania 75 110 105 445 560 1,310 1,490 1,065 1,150 595 
			 Czech Republic 5 15 55 240 515 1,790 1,200 825 1,365 75 
			 Macedonia n/a n/a 15 20 50 90 65 755 310 60 
			 Moldova 5 10 * 20 25 180 235 425 820 375 
			 Poland 360 1,210 900 565 1,585 1,860 1,015 615 990 95 
			 Romania 355 770 455 605 1,015 1,985 2,160 1,400 1,210 545 
			 Russia n/a n/a 205 180 185 685 1,000 450 295 285 
			 SAM(7) n/a n/a 400 1,865 7,395 11,465 6,070 3,230 2,265 805 
			 Turkey 2,045 1,820 1,495 1,445 2,015 2,850 3,990 3,695 2,835 2,395 
			 Ukraine n/a n/a 235 490 370 775 770 445 365 295 
			 Other Former USSR 590 785 960 1,325 2,235 2,460 2,275 895 1,245 620 
			 Other Former Yugo. 1,385 1,565 620 375 535 2,625 2,200 85 90 45 
			 Europe other 535 770 1,035 1,575 1,260 200 415 335 300 85 
			 Europe total 5,360 7,050 6,475 9,145 17,745 28,280 22,880 14,215 13,235 6,280 
			
			 Colombia 405 525 1,005 1,330 425 1,000 505 365 420 225 
			 Ecuador 105 250 435 1,205 280 610 445 255 315 145 
			 Jamaica 110 150 125 130 105 180 310 525 1,310 925 
			 Americas other 265 415 205 165 165 240 155 170 240 220 
			 Americas total 890 1,340 1,765 2,825 975 2,025 1,420 1,315 2,290 1,520 
			
			 Algeria 995 1,865 715 715 1,260 1,385 1,635 1,140 1,060 535 
			 Angola 605 555 385 195 150 545 800 1,015 1,420 860 
			 Burundi 50 95 60 85 215 780 620 610 700 645 
			 Cameroon 75 85 105 175 95 245 355 380 615 495 
			 Congo 40 80 75 90 150 450 485 540 600 355 
			 Dem. Rep. Congo 775 935 680 690 660 1,240 1,030 1,370 2,215 1,525 
			 Eritrea 110 245 135 125 345 565 505 620 1,180 955 
			 Ethiopia 730 585 205 145 345 455 415 610 700 640 
			 Gambia 140 1,170 245 125 45 30 50 65 130 95 
			 Ghana 2,035 1,915 780 350 225 195 285 190 275 320 
			 Ivory Coast 705 245 125 70 95 190 445 275 315 395 
			 Kenya 1,130 1,395 1,170 605 885 485 455 305 350 220 
			 Nigeria 4,340 5,825 2,900 1,480 1,380 945 835 810 1,125 990 
			 Rwanda 100 135 80 90 280 820 760 530 655 265 
			 Sierra Leone 1,810 855 395 815 565 1,125 1,330 1,940 1,155 385 
			 Somalia 1,840 3,465 1,780 2,730 4,685 7,495 5,020 6,420 6,540 5,100 
			 Sudan 330 345 280 230 250 280 415 390 655 930 
			 Tanzania 205 1,535 225 90 80 80 60 80 40 30 
			 Uganda 360 365 215 220 210 420 740 480 715 710 
			 Zimbabwe 55 105 130 60 80 230 1,010 2,140 7,655 3,280 
			 Africa other 530 750 600 425 375 465 670 670 1,295 1,640 
			 Africa total 16,960 22,545 11,290 9,515 12,380 18,435 17,920 20,590 29,390 20,370 
			
			 Iran 520 615 585 585 745 1,320 5,610 3,420 2,630 2,875 
			 Iraq 550 930 965 1,075 1,295 1,800 7,475 6,680 14,570 4,045 
			 Middle East other 910 755 600 675 745 1,045 1,330 1,165 1,115 1,065 
			 Middle East total 1,985 2,295 2,150 2,335 2,785 4,165 14,415 11,265 18,315 7,985 
			
			 Afghanistan 325 580 675 1,085 2,395 3,975 5,555 8,920 7,205 2,290 
			 Bangladesh 310 685 645 545 460 530 795 510 720 730 
			 China 425 790 820 1,945 1,925 2,625 4,000 2,390 3,675 3,445 
			 India 2,030 3,255 2,220 1,285 1,030 1,365 2,120 1,850 1,865 2,275 
			 Pakistan 1,810 2,915 1,915 1,615 1,975 2,615 3,165 2,860 2,405 1,905 
			 Sri Lanka 2,350 2,070 1,340 1,830 3,505 5,130 6,395 5,510 3,130 705 
			 Vietnam 5 5 10 10 35 105 180 400 840 1,130 
			 Asia other 260 385 270 255 615 1,120 1,025 1,040 915 655 
			 Asia total 7,515 10,685 7,885 8,570 11,940 17,465 23,230 23,480 20,755 13,135 
			
			 Nationality not known 125 50 80 105 190 785 450 160 145 80 
			
			 Grand total 32,830 43,965 29,640 32,500 46,015 71,160 80,315 71,025 84,130 49,370 
		
	
	n/a = data not available.
	(3) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2.
	(4) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000.
	(5) Revised figures.
	(6) Provisional figures.
	(7) Serbia and Montenegro (SAM) replaced Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) from 5 February 2003. SAM comprises the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro, and the Province of Kosovo (administered by the UN on an interim basis since 1999).

Asylum/Immigration

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been granted asylum in the UK in each year since 1979, broken down by nationality.

Des Browne: holding answer 8 June 2004
	The table shows the number of asylum seekers, excluding dependants, granted asylum in the United Kingdom by nationality, 1994 to 2003 the latest published data. Information for previous years is published in successive editions of the Home Office annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, copies of which are available from the Library of the House, and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. The nationalities provided in the publication have changed to some extent over the years, reflecting changes in the nationalities applying for asylum. Provision of a consistent set of data for all nationalities, for data back to 1979, would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		Cases1, 2 recognised as refugees and granted asylum, excluding dependants, by nationality, 1994 to 2003
		
			  Number of grants to principal applicants 
			 Nationality 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000(10) 20013, 4 2002(12) 2003(12) 
		
		
			 Albania* * 25 25 25 20 5 
			 Czech Republic  * 10 5 *  
			 Macedonia n/a n/a   * * * 5 5  
			 Moldova*   5 5 5 * 
			 Poland   * * * * 20 5 * 5 
			 Romania 5 5 5 5 * 5 15 5 5 * 
			 Russia n/a n/a 5 5 * * 25 20 15 10 
			 SAM(13) n/a n/a 70 1,355 935 6,290 275 360 225 30 
			 Turkey 90 50 55 85 40 85 180 210 150 95 
			 Ukraine n/a n/a  5  * 15 10 *  
			 Other Former USSR 5 10 5 10 5 10 60 55 55 25 
			 Other Former Yugo. 25 285 1,080 405 70 45 110 40 10 5 
			 Europe Other 5 5 * 5  15 50 25 5 * 
			 Europe Total 130 355 1,220 1,870 1,060 6,480 790 760 500 175 
			
			 Colombia 5 * 10 20 150 5 60 40 45 20 
			 Ecuador   25 10 20 5 
			 Jamaica   5 5 10 * 
			 Americas Other 5 10 5 15 25 * 30 10 5 5 
			 Americas Total 10 10 15 35 175 5 120 70 80 30 
			
			 Algeria 20 15 30 105 310 475 65 65 20 5 
			 Angola 5 * 10 10 5 20 70 100 65 25 
			 Burundi5 195 20 85 225 115 115 
			 Cameroon5 10  20 50 40 20 
			 Congo* 5 5 45 115 35 35 
			 Dem. Rep. Congo 10 15 15 20 10 15 145 325 155 90 
			 Eritrea *  * 5 10 5 35 120 140 65 
			 Ethiopia 5 5 10 20 35 20 40 90 50 15 
			 Gambia  10 15 5 10 * 5 5  * 
			 Ghana 5 * 5 10 10  40 50 15 10 
			 Ivory Coast * * 10 40 50  15 20 10 15 
			 Kenya  * 5 15 5 15 50 25 15 10 
			 Nigeria * * 15 65 100  20 25 25 15 
			 Rwanda 5  * 80 145 20 85 205 125 25 
			 Sierra Leone 5 * 5 5 10 5 95 165 55 15 
			 Somalia 5 10 15 985 2,330 130 5,310 2,910 2,515 1,660 
			 Sudan 30 10 55 60 55 40 110 120 70 130 
			 Tanzania *  *  * * 5 5 5 * 
			 Uganda 15 5 5 5 5 5 20 55 35 30 
			 Zimbabwe   * *   20 120 2,240 870 
			 Africa Other 10 * 5 15 15 5 55 90 70 40 
			 Africa Total 115 80 210 1,460 3,315 785 6,340 4,880 5,795 3,190 
			
			 Iran 100 165 195 155 125 55 390 575 395 115 
			 Iraq 380 570 470 255 510 315 845 830 715 75 
			 Middle East Other 45 50 80 100 60 45 115 150 90 60 
			 Middle East Total 520 785 745 510 695 415 1,350 1,560 1,205 250 
			
			 Afghanistan 5 15 25 20 35 15 375 2,320 115 40 
			 Bangladesh   *  * * 20 10 5 5 
			 China 15 10 10 25 5 5 40 20 15 20 
			 India 5 * 5 * * * 40 20 5 10 
			 Pakistan 5 10 5 10 5 25 125 225 135 75 
			 Sri Lanka 10 20 5 55 50 20 900 1,440 340 25 
			 Vietnam *  * 15 25 10 
			 Asia Other 5 *  * 5 * 45 80 50 35 
			 Asia Total 50 60 50 115 100 65 1,545 4,130 685 225 
			
			 Nationality not known  65 225 55 10 10 
			
			 Grand Total 825 1,295 2,240 3,985 5,345 7,815 10,375 11,450 8,270 3,880 
		
	
	n/a = Data not available.
	(8) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2.
	(9) Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
	(10) Exclude cases where asylum has been granted under the backlog criteria.
	(11) Revised figures.
	(12) Provisional figures.
	(13) Serbia and Montenegro (SAM) replaced Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) from 5 February 2003. SAM comprises the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro, and the Province of Kosovo (administered by the UN on an interim basis since 1999).

Asylum/Immigration

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 700W, on asylum seekers, how many failed Iraqi asylum seekers have been removed from the UK in each month since June 2003 for which figures are available.

Des Browne: Estimates of the number of nationals of Iraq who had sought asylum at some stage and who were removed from the UK from between July 2003 and March 2004the latest date for which figures are availableare shown in the table. These figures include persons departing leaving the UK after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes operated on our behalf by the International Organisation for Migration.
	
		Removals and voluntary departures(14) of asylum applicants, excluding dependants, nationals of Iraq, July 2003 to March 2004
		
			  Number of principal applicants 
			 Nationality 2, 3, 4Iraq 
		
		
			 July 2003 20 
			 August 2003 20 
			 September 2003 15 
			 October 2003 20 
			 November 2003 20 
			 December 2003 20 
			 January 2004 60 
			 February 2004 60 
			 March 2004 90 
			 Total July 2003 to March 2004 320 
		
	
	(14) Includes persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	(15) Figures may include a small number of dependants leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes.
	(16) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
	(17) Provisional figures.
	Note:
	Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	At present returns to Iraq are on a voluntary basis, but on 24 February 2004 my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary announced that the UK was the first country to reach agreement with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to begin enforced returns of unsuccessful Iraqi asylum seekers. A pilot scheme will allow thirty Iraqi nationals per month to be returned initially. We will commence returns when the practical arrangements are finalised.
	Information on the destination of these removals is not available except by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the nationality of those asylum seekers who were removed from the UK between April and June 2004 will be available in August 2004 from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at ttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum/Immigration

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are being housed in local authority or housing association accommodation in the (a) Huntingdon constituency, (b) Cambridgeshire and (c) Corby constituency.

Des Browne: Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. Asylum seekers currently in the UK are either in receipt of support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) or from local authorities, or are supporting themselves. Statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers not in receipt of NASS support are unavailable.
	The following table gives data on the number of asylum seekers supported in NASS accommodation in the Huntingdon constituency, Cambridgeshire and Corby constituency, as at the end of March 2004 (including dependants):
	
		
			  Number supported in NASS accommodation (including dependants) 
		
		
			 Cambridgeshire 115 
			 Of which:  
			 Cambridge  
			 Huntingdon  
			 North-East Cambridgeshire  
			 North-West Cambridgeshire 115 
			 South Cambridgeshire  
			 South-East Cambridgeshire  
			   
			 Corby 5 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Information on the number of asylum seekers supported by NASS is published in the quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

CCTV (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public funding has been spent on CCTV security cameras in Rochdale parliamentary constituency since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Since 1997, the Home Office has provided 209,536 to Rochdale council for Close Circuit Television scheme.
	Allocation of that funding locally is a matter for Rochdale metropolitan borough and the Greater Manchester police. The information is not held centrally.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2004, Official Report, column 188W, on correspondence, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 14 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Muhammad Rafique.

David Blunkett: I wrote again to my right hon. Friend on 15 June 2004.

Crime (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in (a) overall recorded crime, (b) recorded violent crime, (c) burglaries and (d) vehicle thefts has been in Rochdale since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.
	Rochdale is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level has only been published from 19992000 onwards. Detailed statistics at CDRP level are available for 200203 on the new Home Office website: http://www.crimestatistics. org.uk

Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make it a statutory responsibility for health and fire authorities to be involved in crime and disorder reduction partnerships.

Hazel Blears: Section 97(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002 amended section 5(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to extend the range of bodies who are responsible authorities within Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. Police authorities, fire authorities and health authorities in Wales became responsible authorities with effect from 1 April 2003.
	Following discussions with the Department of Health, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England became responsible authorities with effect from 30 April 2004.
	PCTs, health authorities in Wales and fire authorities all now have a statutory responsibility to work in partnership with other partners in order to tackle crime and disorder and misuse of drugs issues locally. They are expected to play an important role in the three yearly audit of crime and drugs audit process, currently under way, and the formulation and delivery of the resultant crime and disorder reduction and misuse of drugs strategy covering the period 200508.

Departmental Administration Budget

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards the 5 per cent. reduction in real terms in his Department's administration budget by 2008 announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331.

David Blunkett: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 200608 to be announced in detail later this year.

Graffiti Removal Notices

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Merseyside local authorities have issued a graffiti removal notice to a statutory body since the inception of this power.

Hazel Blears: This power is initially being piloted in 12 local authorities, in order to assess the impact on the businesses affected. Decisions on further rollout will be made in the light of this exercise. The power to issue graffiti removal notices is therefore not yet available to Merseyside authorities.

Identity Cards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the processes involved in reading the information stored on the proposed identity card.

Des Browne: The identity cards scheme is still in the early design stage but we are planning for it to be flexible in offering different levels of card checks to suit the particular transactions. For example, retailers wanting to check proof of age might just check the person against the photograph on the card and the date of birth. In comparison, public or private sector organisations might check a person's biometric using a reader and verify this against the National Identity Register before providing a service.
	It is too soon to finalise how exactly the more sophisticated types of verification check will be made and the type of technology which will be used. However, as we made clear in the consultation document published on 26 April, verification checks of cards will simply confirm identity and other relevant details. The draft Identity Cards Bill also makes clear that these checks will only be made with the consent of the individual, unless specifically allowed under the draft Bill.

Identity Cards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1419W, on identity cards, if he will list all the categories of person who have not applied for an identity card who, under the proposals in the draft Identity Cards Bill, will be recorded on the National Identity Register.

Des Browne: Under Clause 2(4) of the draft Identity Cards Bill, individuals who have not applied to register, or who are not entitled, may be recorded. There is therefore no definitive list of which individuals will be recorded. Examples of who could be included under Clause 2(4) include failed asylum seekers, illegal immigrants who are removed and third country nationals intending to stay in the country for less than three months but whose passport has been surrendered for bail purposes.

Identity Cards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1419W, on identity cards, what biometric data will be used in the processes being tested.

Des Browne: The United Kingdom Passport Service's biometric enrolment pilot records face, fingerprint and iris biometrics. Not all of these biometrics are recorded from each volunteer.

Identity Cards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1419W, on identity cards, whether failure to produce an identity card as proposed by the draft Identity Cards Bill will provide grounds for arrest in circumstances where a non-arrestable offence is suspected.

Des Browne: The Government have made it clear that it will not be a requirement to carry an identity card or to produce a card to a police officer on demand and, as such, it will not be an offence for a person to fail to produce an identity card to a police constable. The police will not have power to arrest for failure to provide an identity card.
	Police powers in England and Wales to identify a person arrested for a recordable offence are contained in section 25 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. This section states that where a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any offence which is not an arrestable offence has been committed or attempted, or is being committed or attempted, he may arrest the relevant person if it appears to him that the service of a summons is impractical or inappropriate because any of the general arrest conditions is satisfied. The general arrest conditions include where the name or address of the relevant person is unknown to, and cannot be readily ascertained by, the constable, or that the constable has reasonable grounds for doubting whether a name or address furnished by the relevant person is his real name. Similar provisions under different statutes apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	These powers will be unaffected by the introduction of an identity card. As at present with existing documents, people will be free to produce an identity card on a voluntary basis (if they have one) to a police officer or to any other official as a means of establishing their identity, but will not be compelled to do so.

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will summarise the evaluation report produced by Oxford University on the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme.

Paul Goggins: The evaluation report is in its final stages of preparation. We expect it to be ready for publication shortly. Copies of the summary will be sent to my hon. Friend and placed in the Library and on the Youth Justice Board website.

Mr. Akezhan Kazhegeldin

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether Mr. Akezhan Kazhegeldin, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is permitted to hold any employment in the UK; and whether he receives financial support from the British Government;
	(2)  what representations he has received from Interpol on the Government's decision to grant leave to remain in the UK for Mr. Akezhan Kazhegeldin, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Des Browne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 15 June 2004.

Neighbourhood Watch

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the financial position of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association; what funds have been made available to the Association; what assessment he has made of the Association's ability to continue its work; if he will publish the audit of the Association undertaken by his Department; what steps he is taking to assist the Association in maintaining its support to local neighbourhood watches; and what other arrangements he is putting in place to maintain support to local neighbourhood watches.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 14 June 2004
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has received representations from 32 Members of Parliament and 55 members of the public about the financial position of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association (NNWA).
	350,000 of public funds were made available to the Association in 2003.
	The NNWA is an independent organisation itself responsible for assessing its capabilities.
	The audit was not intended for publication. Copies have been supplied to the NNWA and they may publish the report if they wish to.
	The National Association informed us in November 2003 that, until further notice, it would cease most of its support for local associations and concentrate on its commercial activities.
	The main support to local Neighbourhood Watch schemes is in the form of partnership working from the police, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, and the community safety departments of local authorities. We have asked police forces to ensure these arrangements are robust. We are also examining provision of website and advice line support.
	Home Office support for local schemes will continue unchanged. This includes the printing and distributing of Neighbourhood Watch publications worth 100,000 per annum. It also provides training materials like the Crime Reduction Basics and Passport to Crime Reduction toolkits, of which over 6,000 were sent to local schemes in December 2003.
	The Home Office is currently piloting a new quarterly community safety magazine called The Word, with a section dedicated to Neighbourhood Watch, which will in future go out nationally.

Neighbourhood Watch

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Home Office (a) Ministers and (b) officials had contact with the National Neighbourhood Watch Association over the Association's attempts to use the Neighbourhood Watch logo in connection with private sector sponsorship; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has corresponded with the National Neighbourhood Watch Association and officials from the Crime Reduction Directorate of the Home Office and Treasury Solicitors have met them and corresponded with them on a number of occasions.

Neighbourhood Watch

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions he has placed on the use of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association logo.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 14 June 2004
	The National Neighbourhood Watch Association logo is a variant of the Neighbourhood Watch logo, which is Crown copyright. The National Neighbourhood Watch Association has registered the Neighbourhood Watch logos as its own trademarks and the Home Office is currently holding discussions with the Association to recover them and to agree how they may be used by the Association in future.

Personal Identification Project

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have had their data used in the UK Passport Service's Personal Identification Project; how individuals are recruited for the project; and how their consent is obtained.

Des Browne: Since the start of the trial in Glasgow in October 2003 there have been 117,4271 October 2003 to 10 May 2004applications processed through the Personal Identity Project system.
	All application packs for the Glasgow catchment area (Scotland and Kent) have supplementary forms included; these forms inform applicants of the trial and the use of the data they submit. In the final section of the form the applicant is requested to sign giving consent for the data supplied to be used in the identity search as described in the guidance notes.

Special Constables

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much capacity building funding for the recruitment of special constables was made available to police forces in each year since its inception.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 14 June 2004
	The Specials' capacity building funding was announced in December 2003 and is in its first year. It is designed to assist Forces implement good practice, improving the recruitment, management and deployment of Special Constables.
	All 43 Police Forces in England and Wales submitted proposals. The following table shows the allocation made to Forces, covering the first 12 months of the scheme.
	
		
			 Force Total () 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 70,000 
			 Bedfordshire 69,859 
			 Cambridgeshire 70,000 
			 Cheshire 70,000 
			 City of London 70,000 
			 Cleveland 70,000 
			 Cumbria 65,316 
			 Derbyshire 63,934 
			 Devon and Cornwall 39,892 
			 Dorset 70,000 
			 Durham 66,820 
			 Dyfed Powys 70,000 
			 Essex 70,000 
			 Gloucestershire 67,194 
			 Greater Manchester 39,999 
			 Gwent 67,516 
			 Hampshire 54,684 
			 Hertfordshire 62,453 
			 Humberside 70,000 
			 Kent 70,000 
			 Lancashire 70,000 
			 Leicestershire 70,000 
			 Lincolnshire 23,134 
			 Merseyside 65,434 
			 Metropolitan Police 70,000 
			 Norfolk 69,500 
			 Northamptonshire 70,000 
			 Northumbria 70,000 
			 North Wales 63,710 
			 North Yorkshire 70,000 
			 Nottinghamshire 62,000 
			 South Wales 69,006 
			 South Yorkshire 63,400 
			 Staffordshire 39,818 
			 Suffolk 65,402 
			 Surrey 70,000 
			 Sussex 69,898 
			 Thames Valley 69,779 
			 Warwickshire 62,342 
			 West Mercia 66,070 
			 West Midlands 69,960 
			 West Yorkshire 70,000 
			 Wiltshire 69,950 
			 Totals 2,787,070

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) successes and (b) failures of the national drugs strategy in Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: President Karzai adopted the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy in May 2003. Its aim is to eliminate opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by 2013. I set out to the House on 9 June 2004, Official Report, columns 12427WH the action in hand to deliver that strategy and made clear that the UK, as lead nation, remains committed to supporting its implementation.
	In the first year of implementation of the strategy, the basic counter narcotics structures have been put in place: drug control legislation, a Counter Narcotics Directorate, a Special Narcotics Force, the Counter Narcotics Police and a central eradication capability. Work is also in hand to develop alternative livelihoods for farmers dependent on opium poppy cultivation. These measures provide a sound basis for the future development of robust institutions and programmes to combat opium production and trafficking. Progress remains linked to the wider security situation in Afghanistan and to the implementation of other areas of institution building such as policing and judicial systems.

Afghanistan

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources are being made available to monitor the elections in Afghanistan.

Mike O'Brien: The Joint Elections Management Body comprised of the Afghan Transitional Administration and UN representatives, and chaired by Interior Minister Jalali, is responsible for election preparations. As part of its electoral support plans, the UN Development Programme intends to establish an Observation Office to facilitate national and international election observation. The Office is intended to support information exchange between Afghan and international observers and other interested parties; provide briefing packages for observers; and develop training materials for Afghan observers.
	We are currently discussing with EU partners and the European Commission a range of measures to support the elections, including deployment of monitors and advisers. There are likely to be observer teams from a number of other countries. Work is also in hand to develop domestic monitoring capacity. Afghan civil society organisations involved in this have formed a Core Group to co-ordinate domestic monitoring activities.

Afghanistan

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the size of the British monitoring team during the elections in Afghanistan will be.

Mike O'Brien: We have not yet decided on the size or nature of any UK input into the international monitoring effort for the forthcoming elections in Afghanistan. But we are looking at this, including in the light of current discussions with EU and other partners.

Zimbabwe

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will authorise the entry of Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason Dr. Gideon Gono, Governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank, was not prevented from entering the UK under the terms of EU sanctions.

Chris Mullin: Because he is not on the list of individuals subject to an EU travel ban and we see no advantage in acting unilaterally.

Zimbabwe

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of involvement in illegal foreign exchange deals involving the Zimbabwe regime of Dr. Gideon Gono, Governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank.

Chris Mullin: We are aware of these reports. Zimbabwean foreign exchange regulations are a matter for the Zimbabwe Government, and allegations of corruption are a matter for their police.

Zimbabwe

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received that Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (a) is a fundraiser for ZANU PF and (b) intends to enter the United Kingdom for fundraising purposes.

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the fund-raising visit to the UK of Dr. Gideon Gono, Governor of Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank.

Chris Mullin: We understand that during Dr. Gono's visit he is encouraging Zimbabwean migrs to remit money to Zimbabwe through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe rather than through other means.

Bangladesh

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Bangladesh on protecting the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in that country.

Mike O'Brien: We continue to be concerned about the situation of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Bangladesh, and raise this regularly with the Bangladeshi Government. I did so with the Bangladeshi High Commissioner in London during his introductory call in January. The British High Commission in Dhaka raises the subject regularly, most recently when our High Commissioner met the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister on 19 May. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn), raised our concerns about the general law and order situation with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister on 25 May in Shanghai.

Bangladesh

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he is making to the Bangladesh Government concerning the security situation in the country with reference to attacks on and harassment of opposition party members; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I discussed the worrying political situation in Bangladesh with the Bangladeshi Finance Minister Saifur Rahman in London on 10 March. I stressed the importance of all parties adopting a constructive approach and working together to allow Bangladesh to address the key issues it faces. Officials at our High Commission in Dhaka regularly raise our concerns about human rights and law and order with the Bangladeshi Government, most recently when our High Commissioner called on the Foreign Minister on 19 May. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) also raised these issues with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister on 25 May in Shanghai.

Bangladesh

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bomb attack in Bangladesh which injured the United Kingdom High Commissioner.

Mike O'Brien: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in his press statement of 21 May, we were deeply shocked to hear of the events in Sylhet earlier that day in which three people died and some 50 were injured including our High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury. A copy of the press statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news/press-releases. We extend our sympathies to all the victims and their families. Mr. Choudhury was visited in hospital by the Foreign Secretary and I visited twice. I am plesed to report that Anwar is recovering well and has now been discharged from hospital. Officers from the Metropolitan police visited Sylhet soon after the event in order to assist the Bangladeshi police with the investigation, which is still on-going. We are very grateful to the Bangladeshi authorities for the support we have received, and will, of course, be following the progress of the investigation closely.

Bangladesh

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the assassination of Bangladesh member of parliament Ahsanullah Master.

Mike O'Brien: We noted with concern the murder on 7 May of Ahsanullah Master MP. We understand that a police investigation has been launched, and urge the Bangladeshi authorities to make every effort to bring those responsible to justice. We also urge the main political parties in Bangladesh not to let this assassination worsen their relationship. We encourage all parties to adopt a constructive approach and work together to help Bangladesh to address the challenges that it faces.

Conflict Prevention Pool

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will be included in the Conflict Prevention Pool; and what the priorities are of the Conflict Prevention Pool.

Bill Rammell: A review of the Government's work on Conflict Prevention in 19992000 concluded that delivery would be improved by bringing together in a more co-ordinated way the existing activities of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in this field. The Government therefore set up joint FCO/DfID/MOD Africa and Global Conflict Prevention Pools in 2001.
	The pools were set up with the aim of reducing the number of people around the world whose lives are affected by violent conflict and, ultimately, of cutting the number of conflicts that occur.
	Activities of these two pools seek to harness the expertise available within the three Departments across a wide range of sectors including development, security reform, public administration, good policing and equitable justice systems.
	By 2006, DfID, FCO and MOD, together and with others, will work to:
	(i) resolve existing violent conflicts and prevent new conflicts in priority countries and regions eg Afghanistan, Balkans, Former Soviet Union, Middle and Near East, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Great Lakes, Sudan, Angola, and Nigeria
	(ii) address the national and regional causes of conflict by:
	strengthening local conflict management eg through improved governance and security sector reform in priority countries and regions
	improving local peace support capacity in co-operation with international partners eg the development of a GS-Africa Peace Support Operations plan
	(iii) improve the international community's response to conflict by:
	strengthening UN Conflict Management capacity eg improving peacekeeping deployments
	mobilising and supporting coherent bilateral and international action at UN, G8, EU, Commonwealth, and other forums including NEPAD
	implementing agreements to reduce the proliferation of small arms and light weapons eg international and national action plans
	(iv) tackle the Economic and Financial Causes of Conflict eg by mobilising national and international agreement to increase oil revenue transparency and corporate social responsibility.

East Timor-Australia

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what line the United Kingdom recognises as the boundary line between East Timor and Australia.

Mike O'Brien: There is currently no agreed maritime boundary between East Timor and Australia. We hope they will work together to find a mutually acceptable solution. We welcome reported comments by the Prime Minister of East Timor, Mr. Alkatiri, that East Timor is open to creative solutions and by the Australian Foreign Minister James Downer that Australia is open to fresh ideas.

International Criminal Court

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to oppose the renewal of UN Security Council Resolution 1487; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 7 June 2004, Official Report, column 58W.

Iraq

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to help protect Iraq's cultural heritage after the planned official handover of power in Iraq on 30 June.

Bill Rammell: Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) advisers to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture have been working hard to enable the Ministry to assume responsibility for its own administration. It has now done this and we welcome the reappointment of Mufid al-Jazairi as the Minister.
	The Ministry has begun implementation of an Archaeological Site Protection Plan and the CPA and Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage are working together to build an archaeological site patrol force.
	In the past year the CPA has also instituted security measures at the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, and believes that these measures will suffice to protect it in future. Security upgrades have been undertaken in the Mosul Museum. No other archaeological museums now contain original objects.
	We expect to see future exchanges between Iraqi and international conservationists highlight further areas for co-operation between experts.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has asked the United States Central Intelligence Agency if it will give permission for the release of communications made by the CIA to Her Majesty's Government in respect of reservations held by the CIA over claims that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger, following the public testimony by the CIA Director George Tenet on 11 July 2003.

Jack Straw: I am withholding details of intelligence exchanges with the CIA under exemptions 1 (b) and (c) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his written answer of 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1636W, on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whether, in his meeting with the President of the ICRC in Geneva on 18 March, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (a) was made aware of and (b) raised the issue of allegations concerning the treatment of prisoners in Iraq by Coalition forces other than British forces.

Jack Straw: The President of the ICRC, Dr. Kellenberger did mention briefly to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Rammell) in their meeting on 18 March that the February ICRC report contained allegations concerning treatment of detainees by forces other than UK forces, though naturally the part of their discussion which covered detainees in Iraq focused on specific allegations against UK forces. The Minister discussed the concerns raised by Dr. Kellenberger with officials on his return to London. Officials had already received assurances that US investigations were under way into allegations of abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, columns 74849W, on Iraq, what inquiries are being conducted by the Coalition Provisional Authority into the prison facilities specified in the International Committee of the Red Cross report.

Bill Rammell: The Coalition Provisional Authority is not responsible for the US and UK detention facilities which were the subject of the ICRC report.

Israel

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consequences beyond public censure the Government has raised with Israel in respect of alleged breaches of the Geneva conventions.

Bill Rammell: We have raised Israeli violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention repeatedly both in public and in private, bilaterally and in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and at the Conference of States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention held in Geneva in 2001. Respect for international humanitarian law is an essential feature of our efforts to bring peace to the region based on the roadmap.
	The most serious consequence of such breaches is their negative impact on prospects for achieving the lasting peace which most Israelis want to see.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to report human rights abuses committed by Israel in Gaza to the EU Association Council.

Bill Rammell: Article 2 of the EU/Israel Association Agreement states that Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.
	Where we have concerns over Israeli actions on human rights grounds we raise these concerns with the Israeli government both as the UK and through the EU. Following the recent violence in Gaza, EU Foreign Ministers said that Israeli Defence Force actions were disproportionate and in conflict with international law and also with Israel's obligations under the Roadmap.
	The EU also uses the opportunity to raise issues of concern, including human rights, at the EU/Israel Association Council. The EU will consider in the autumn what issues to raise at the EU/Israel Association Council scheduled to be held at the end of this year.

Middle East

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet the (a) Palestinian Authority and (b) Israeli Government to discuss peace in the Middle East.

Bill Rammell: We are in constant contact with both parties at all levels. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean will continue to meet senior representatives of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government as appropriate.

Middle East

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will continue to promote the roadmap as the way forward in the Middle East.

Bill Rammell: Yes. The Government are committed to progress towards peace in the Middle East based on the Quartet's (UN, EU, US, Russia) roadmap.

Ministerial Expenses

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) his Department and (b) other Government Departments paid for travelling and other expenses in connection with the attendance by the Minister for Europe at meetings in the course of the composition and signing of the Party of European Socialists document entitled Political Declaration, High Level Policy Group on Globalisation: Europe 2004, Changing the Future; whether he was accompanied to those meetings by officials from his Department or any other Government Department; and whether any officials from his Department or any other Government Department arranged the Minister for Europe's travel plans.

Jack Straw: No.

Saudi Arabia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legal assistance was given by his Department to the five Britons arrested in relation to bombing incidents in Saudi Arabia in 2000 during their incarceration in that country; and what the cost of that assistance was.

Jack Straw: holding answer 15 June 2004
	The men detained in Saudi Arabia, as in other consular cases, were put in contact with local lawyers who provided independent legal assistance. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not provide any legal assistance, nor did it provide funding for legal assistance, but we did provide the most extensive consular support.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which international treaty to which the United Kingdom is party (a) gives legal underpinning to the possession of nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom and (b) permits the modernisation of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Denis MacShane: The United Kingdom is recognised as a Nuclear Weapons State in accordance with the definition in Article IX(3) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
	The UK is satisfied that its possession and maintenance of its minimum nuclear deterrent is in compliance with international law.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency (Merseyside)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants there were on average in accident and emergency departments in each hospital in Merseyside in each of the last three years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Administration Budget

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the 5 per cent. reduction in real terms in his Department's administration budget by 2008 announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331.

Rosie Winterton: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 200608, to be announced in detail later this year.

Air Fresheners

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research has been conducted into the impact upon (a) indoor air quality and (b) human health of the use of air fresheners; what advice has been given to the public relating to their use; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has not undertaken any studies on the effects of the use of air fresheners on health or on indoor air quality.

Aneurisms

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the position regarding screening for aneurisms.

Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) makes recommendations to Ministers on all aspects of screening programmes. It is currently considering the feasibility of implementing a screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysms, including resource costs of screening and of surgery. This follows a multi-centre study funded by the Medical Research Council. The NSC is expected to advise the Government later in the year.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set a date by which the current Review of SSRI and related anti-depressant drugs will be completed and published; and what the reasons are for the delay in completing it.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and related anti-depressant drugs will be (a) completed and (b) published;
	(2)  what the reasons are for delays in completing the review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and related anti-depressants;

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 June 2004
	The review of the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by the Committee on Safety of Medicines' expert working group has taken longer than expected because of the need to examine a large amount of data from a wide variety of new and existing sources. The expert working group expects to publish its report later this year.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the best estimate of (a) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and (b) the Committee on the Safety of Medicines of the incidence of withdrawal reactions to Seroxat was in (i) July 1997 and (ii) July 2003; and if he will make a statement on the figures.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons were for the differences in the best estimate of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the Committee on Safety of Medicines of the incidence of withdrawal reactions to Seroxat in July 1997 and July 2003.

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate was made by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the incidence of withdrawal reactions to Seroxat in (a) July 1997 and (b) July 2003.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 June 2004
	Data were not available in July 1997 to allow a good estimation of the incidence of withdrawal reactions with paroxetine by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). In July 2003, the best estimate of the incidence of withdrawal reactions by the MHRA and CSM, based on analyses of clinical trials was that 25 per cent. of patients had experienced symptoms on withdrawal of paroxetine. Information about the potential for paroxetine to cause withdrawal reactions has been included in the product information since the time of licensing and has been updated to take account of the new data on incidence.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the current review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and related anti-depressant drugs to be completed and published; and for what reasons this review has not been published earlier.

Rosie Winterton: The review of the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors by the Committee on Safety of Medicines' expert working group has taken longer than expected because of the need to examine a large amount of data from a wide variety of new and existing sources. The expert working group expects to publish its report later this year.

Anti-depressant Drugs

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued in relation to the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 June 2004
	Guidance on how to use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) safely and effectively is provided in the product information for prescribers, the summary of product characteristics, and in the patient information leaflet which accompanies the medicine. These documents are authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at the time of licensing and updated through the life of the product as new information on risks and benefits emerges. Information on prescribing is also provided in the British National Formulary, which is sent to all doctors in the national health service.
	As with all medicines, the safety of SSRIs is continually monitored by the MHRA with independent expert advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). Articles have been published in the MHRA/CSM drug safety bulletin, Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance in 1993, 2000 and 2003. These articles alerted prescribers to safety issues with SSRIs, in particular the risk of withdrawal reactions and the need to monitor carefully patients at risk of suicidal behaviour. The September 2003 edition of Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance contained a fact sheet for patients to aid discussions with their doctor about the appropriate use and possible side effects of their medicine.
	The safety of SSRIs is currently undergoing intensive review by an expert working group of the CSM. Advice has been communicated to doctors and patients as each stage of the review has been completed. In December 2003, the CSM issued advice on the use of SSRIs in children and adolescents and published summaries of the clinical trial data on which this advice was based on the CSM website. In March 2004, the CSM issued a reminder to doctors on the recommended dose of paroxetine (Seroxat) in the treatment of depressive illness.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the long-term effects of neuroleptic drugs given to people who have been misdiagnosed as schizophrenic.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 June 2004
	The Department has not made an assessment of the long-term effects of neuroleptic drugs given to people who have been misdiagnosed as schizophrenic.

Breastmilk Substitutes

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health effects of feeding babies breastmilk substitutes; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 7 June 2004
	The Department has not made any assessment of the health effects of feeding babies breastmilk substitutes.
	The Department recommends breastfeeding as the best form of nutrition for infants as it provides all the nutrients a baby needs for the first six months of life and has positive health benefits for both mother and baby in the short and longer term. Breastfed infants are five times less likely to be admitted to hospital with infections such as gastro-enteritis in the first year of life and may be less likely to become obese in later childhood. Breastfeeding is also advantageous for maternal health. Longer-term breastfeeding helps mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight and there is a reduced incidence of pre-menopausal breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers.

Cannabis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what campaigns have been launched by his Department and what funding has been granted to warn teenagers about links between cannabis use and mental illness.

Melanie Johnson: The FRANK campaign is a 3 million a year three-year joint initiative from the Department of Health and the Home Office and is supported by the Department for Education and Skills. Launched in May 2003, FRANK aims to inform young people and their parents, carers and families about the effects and risks of taking illicit drugs. In addition, FRANK gives people advice, support and provides details of drug services. The campaign's primary focus is on Class A drugs, in line with the Government's updated drugs strategy. The risks associated with cannabis use, including possible mental health illness, are also documented.
	A Home Office-led 1 million information campaign started in January 2004 to inform the public about the changes to the law on cannabis. This included radio and newspaper adverts, leaflets, posters, postcards and education packs for schools.
	Although no specific funding has been granted to warn teenagers about possible links between cannabis use and mental illness, the Department has funded a new leaflet on the adverse health effects of cannabis, and includes a section on mental health. This leaflet is currently being printed.

Correspondence

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the letter of 27 May 2004 from the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Wycombe, if he will ensure that the chair of the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority writes to the hon. Member for Wycombe with the information requested by 18 June.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 10 June 2004
	The Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority has advised that the chair of the strategic health authority will provide information to the hon. Member by 18 June.

Delayed Discharge Fines

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which wards in hospitals in West Sussex are not liable for delayed discharge fines.

Rosie Winterton: Patients for whom delayed discharge charges are currently payable under the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act are those receiving acute care. The definition of acute care is based upon the patient, not the hospital bed. Therefore, there are no wards which are liable for delayed discharge fines.

Dentistry

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when primary care trusts will take control of the dental services budget to enable them to carry out their duty of care to deliver primary dental services under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

Rosie Winterton: The 1.3 billion financial resources (200304) currently held centrally will be transferred to primary care trusts to coincide with the implementation of the new contractual framework for national health service dentistry. Following a consultation with representative bodies of the dental profession on our Framework Proposals for Primary Care Dental Services in England, we are currently considering whether any revision to the original timetable of April 2005 is necessary.

Dentistry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided to NHS dentists in the Adur, Arun and Worthing primary care trust area in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: The gross and net fees paid to dentists for the provision of general dental services (GDS) for 200102, 200203 and 200304 is shown in the table.
	Before October 2002, Adur, Arun and Worthing was part of the West Sussex health authority area. These figures exclude some payments to dentists such as commitment payments, maternity and seniority payments as well as superannuation payments made on their behalf.
	
		National health service dental service: gross and net fees paid in the GDS for the years 200102, 200203 and 200304 --  million
		
			  Year Health authority (HA)/ primary care trust (PCT) Gross fees Net fees(18) 
		
		
			 200102 to first half of 200203 
			 Year ending March 2002 West Sussex HA 31.6 23.4 
			 April 2002 to September 2002 West Sussex HA 16.0 11.9 
			 
			 200203second half to 200304 
			 October 2002 to March 2003 Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT 3.3 2.2 
			 Year ending March 2004 Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT 7.0 4.5 
		
	
	(18) Excludes patient charge.
	Note:
	Community, personal and hospital dental services have not been included in this table as these are not funded separately from other services.

Dentistry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have access to NHS dentists in the Adur, Arun and Worthing primary care trust area; and what percentage of the potential target group this figure represents.

Rosie Winterton: There are 99,000 patients registered with the general dental service (GDS) dentists in the Adur, Arun and Worthing Primary Care Trust area at 31 March 2004.
	This represents 46 per cent., of the population of Adur, Arun and Worthing.
	Registration numbers cover patients who have registered with a GDS dentist and attended the dentist within the past 15 months. They do not include some patients who choose to attend less often.
	National health service dental services are also provided by the community dental service, personal dental service, salaried service of the GDS and the hospital dental service. These services do not require the patient to be registered with a dentist.

Dentistry

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) promote NHS dentistry in Crosby.

John Hutton: The proposals in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 in relation to primary dental services represent the most radical reform of national health service dentistry since 1948. They will give a better deal for patients, for dentists and for the NHS. Under these proposals, primary care trusts (PCTs) have a duty to secure the provision of primary dental services.
	Nationally, we have provided new investment totalling 90 million over the last year. 59 million will support access, and strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been advised of their shares and are working with their primary care trusts to address access issues. 30 million is to support information technology and the balance of 1 million will support organisational development locally.
	The PCTs across Merseyside are working closely with the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA supported by the shadow Special Health Authority (dentistry) to improve local dental access using their share of the access funds: some 2.64 million in 200405.
	NHS Direct receives about 19,000 calls per month related to dentistry (at March 2004). Reports from the NHS suggest that about 91 per cent, of callers to NHS Direct are being advised of available sources of NHS dentistry within locally agreed standards.
	The number of dentists working in the General Dental Services (GDS) is increasing. On 30 March 2004, there were 19,313 dentists in England, up from 16,728 in 1997. Activity in the GDS has been stable. Around 60 per cent., of all general practice dentists offer 90 per cent., or more NHS care. Some 25 per cent., of all general practice dentists offer NHS care exclusively.

Dentistry

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average distance for people to access NHS dentists is in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby.

Melanie Johnson: The average distance to a General Dental Service surgery is 0.54 miles for people living in Merseyside and 0.34 miles for people living in Crosby.

Dentistry

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when discussions with the Governments of (a) Poland, (b) Germany, (c) Denmark and (d) Spain on the recruitment of dentists from their countries began;
	(2)  if he will list the recruitment agencies used to recruit dentists from (a) Poland, (b) Germany, (c) Denmark and (d) Spain; and what the cost of using them has been to date;
	(3)  if he will list the countries with which his Department is in discussion regarding the recruitment of overseas dentists to work in the UK; and how far advanced these discussions are in each case;
	(4)  pursuant to the Oral statement by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central of 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 22WH, on dentists, how many dentists he expects to recruit from (a) Poland, (b) Germany, (c) Denmark and (d) Spain this year.

Rosie Winterton: A Government to Government agreement exists to recruit healthcare professionals from Spain. On this basis, plans are currently being developed to recruit dentists but no assessment of numbers has been made.
	The Department has signed an agreement to recruit at least 110 dentists from Poland and other parts of Europe via methods consulting. My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health (Mr. Hutton) met with Polish Ministers in March to discuss matters of mutual interest. Discussions on the recruitment of dentists have since been followed up at official level.
	Earlier this month, the Department, at the request of the Danish employment service, provided information to Danish dentists wishing to work in England.
	Departmental officials met with their Indian counterparts in April and discussed how to improve the registration process for dentists who wish to practice in the United Kingdom.
	The number of dentists to be recruited from Poland, Denmark and Spain is not yet known.

Dentistry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaints he has received from (a) EU countries and (b) non-EU countries about the active recruitment of overseas dentists; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is not aware of any complaints about the recruitment of overseas dentists.

Dentistry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), of 11 May, Official Report, column 22WH, how many overseas dentists he expects to start working in (a) the community dental service, (b) the general dental service and (c) hospital dental services; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department's international recruitment campaign will focus on filling vacant posts within primary care dentistry. It is too soon to predict which parts of the national health service recruits will work in.

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support the Government are giving to drug and alcohol rehabilitation schemes in the community.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 14 June 2004
	In 200102 the Government set up the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse to increase both the quality and availability of drug treatment. At the same time the Government made substantial funding available for drug treatment through a new pooled drug treatment budget, which in 200405 had risen to 260 million, an increase of over 100 per cent. over 200102 levels.
	In addition to the pooled drug treatment budget substantial national health service mainstream monies are available for the provision of drug treatment.
	Alcohol services are largely funded through NHS mainstream monies but there are no central records of the total amount.
	The Government also recently launched their alcohol strategy in March 2004, which includes within it a goal to improve the effectiveness of alcohol treatment services.

Drug Rehabilitation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current waiting time is for drug rehabilitation in Stroud for (a) detoxification and (b) recovery.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Drug Rehabilitation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the throughput for individuals who have been accepted onto drug rehabilitation schemes in Stroud was in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available centrally.
	Stroud is part of Gloucestershire drug action team. There were 1,073 people receiving drug treatment in Gloucestershire in 200001. These are the latest available data. Data broken down by drug action team for 200102 and 200203 have not yet been finalised and published.

Food Supplements Directive

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received from Consumers for Health Choice in relation to the interpretation and implementation of the Food Supplements Directive; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from right hon. and hon. Members in relation to the Food Supplements Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Recently the Department has received numerous postcards relating to the Consumers for Health Choice campaign.
	Between 1 March 2004 and 28 May 2004, 265 representations have been received from right hon. and hon. Members in relation to the Food Supplements Directive. This number includes both campaign postcards and non-campaign correspondence.

Framework Criteria

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to determine which conditions and treatments are assessed for the introduction of (a) national service frameworks, (b) policy frameworks and (c) National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines.

Rosie Winterton: In selecting a topic for and developing and implementing a national service framework, account is taken of the importance of a health issue in terms of morbidity and mortality, the scope for service improvement and the capacity of the national health service and its partner agencies to implement the framework. Similar criteria determine the areas in which the Government choose to introduce major initiatives in other parts of health and social care policy.
	The work programme for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is set by the Department, via the advisory committee for topic selection (ACTS). The ACTS consists of departmental policy officials, NICE, patient and professional groups and the pharmaceutical industry. Its role is to advise whether a topic is suitable for an appraisal by NICE. The ACTS applies selection criteria agreed by Ministers and prioritises those proposals which meet the criteria. The key criteria are whether guidance would promote the best possible improvement in patient care given available resources, and whether NICE would be able to add value by issuing guidance.

General Practitioners

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of 24 hour heart monitors to general practitioners' surgeries.

Melanie Johnson: General practitioner practices make decisions about how they spend the income they receive, which will in some cases have been used to provide 24 hour heart monitors. In addition in 200203, 15 million was allocated to pay for cardiac equipment in primary care.

Gymnasiums (Mental Health Hospitals)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what gymnasium facilities are available in each mental health hospital in England.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not centrally available.
	All new mental health buildings are designed to specific functional and space standards, which are provided in Health Building Notes (HBN).
	HBN 35, Accommodation for people with mental illness, acknowledges that physical exercise is important both as recreation and because of the positive link between physical and mental health. HBN 35 states that it is a local decision whether to provide a gymnasium or a fitness room.

Health Services (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many senior citizens in Rochdale parliamentary constituency have access to free eye tests; and what percentage are (a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority;
	(2)  how many residents in Rochdale parliamentary constituency aged over 60 years have benefited from the abolition of charges for eye tests; and what percentage were (a) women and (b) from an ethnic minority.

Melanie Johnson: Data for the number of sight tests by constituency, senior citizens, gender or by ethnic origin are not collected centrally.
	In 200203, the total number of national health service sight tests paid for by the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority for patients in the aged 60 and over category was 189,900. The total number eligible for a free sight test for those aged 60 and over was 493,100. Sight tests cannot be equated to the numbers of patients.

Health Services (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS (a) therapists and (b) scientists were located in Rochdale in each of the last seven years.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows the number of qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff in the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority area as at 30 September each specified year -- Headcount
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Bury and Rochdale Health Authority 1 1 11 12 10 (19) (19) 
			 Bury Health Care NHS Trust 216 225 230 242 267 (19) (19) 
			 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 286 267 272 275 256 (19) (19) 
			 Oldham NHS Trust 347 346 360 393 417 (19) (19) 
			 Rochdale Health Care NHS Trust 244 249 243 259 308 (19) (19) 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (19) (19) (19) (19) (19) 900 853 
			 Rochdale PCT (19) (19) (19) (19) (19) 137 144 
			 Pennine Care NHS Trust (19) (19) (19) (19) (19) 146 187 
		
	
	(19) Not applicable
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Mental Health Act

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department at Grade 7 and above have worked on the reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 since May 1997.

Rosie Winterton: A number of officials across the Department have contributed to work on the reform of the 1983 Mental Health Act since 1997. Quantifying this information by grade could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Mental Illness

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that drug treatments for patients with mental health illnesses are prescribed at the correct dosage; and what measures are taken to monitor patients for harmful side effects.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 June 2004
	The safety of all medicines in clinical practice is continually monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). Health professionals are asked to report any suspected side effects to the MHRA/CSM through the Yellow Card scheme. When a new side effect for a medicine is identified, action is taken to inform prescribers and to minimise the risk to patients.
	Where specific monitoring of patients is required to ensure safe use of a medicine, this is referred to in the product information for prescribers (the summary of product characteristics) and in the patient information leaflet.

MRSA

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each of the last two years have fallen ill owing to MRSA-related conditions contracted as a result of a stay in hospital in each health service area.

Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally. Available data from the national mandatory methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias) system is shown in the table.
	
		Mandatory methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias)
		
			 Strategic health authority April 2002March 2003 April 2003March 2004(20) 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 389 344 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 173 148 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 455 440 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 344 320 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 155 122 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire 182 202 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 215 235 
			 Dorset and Somerset 139 100 
			 Essex 149 148 
			 Greater Manchester 375 410 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 200 213 
			 Kent and Medway 200 203 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 189 182 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 392 388 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 151 197 
			 North Central London 376 364 
			 North East London 246 253 
			 North West London 387 376 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 225 267 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 175 240 
			 South East London 406 397 
			 South West London 244 267 
			 South West Peninsula 210 259 
			 South Yorkshire 156 198 
			 Surrey and Sussex 346 383 
			 Thames Valley 243 262 
			 Trent 305 337 
			 West Yorkshire 357 392 
		
	
	(20) These data are provisional.
	Source:
	Health Protection Agency

MRSA

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were reported in each month over the last two years in each health trust.

Melanie Johnson: Annual data are available from the mandatory Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream (bacteraemia) infections surveillance system that started in April 2001 at the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/39/46/04063946.pdf.

Natural Products Show (Olympia)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what strategy the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency adopted in terms of (a) numbers of officials and (b) method of approach for visits to stands at the Natural Products Show at Olympia on 5 April.

Melanie Johnson: The medicines borderline section of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was given six free tickets to the Natural Products Show by an industry trade association with whom the MHRA meets on regular basis. The visit was intended to help inform the Medicines Borderline Section of market trends and developments, and to help provide information to the sector. During the visit the staff had informal discussions with exhibitors about the presentation of a number of unlicensed products making illegal medicinal claims with the exhibitors and some presentational material was taken away.

NHS Admissions (Burnley)

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elective admissions to the NHS there were in Burnley in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally on a constituency basis. Information relating to national health service organisations serving the Burnley area is shown in the table.
	
		Patients waiting for elective inpatient admission
		
			Patients waiting for admission by months waiting 
			 Month-end NHS Trust Total number of patients Less than three months Three to five months Six to eight months Nine to 11 months  1214 months  1517 months  18+ months 
		
		
			 March 1997 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,903 2,638 1,201 668 396
			 March 1997 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 5,840 3,126 1,677 786 251
			 March 1998 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 6,157 3,061 1,470 968 625 33   
			 March 1998 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 6,569 3,224 1,087 1,087 412 2   
			  Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,895 2,908 1,092 546 288 61   
			 March 1999 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 5,357 3,231 1,103 691 318 14   
			 March 2000 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,803 2,458 1,190 639 377 120 19  
			 March 2000 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 5,084 2,977 1,202 606 251 48   
			 March 2001 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,554 2,335 1,207 686 326
			 March 2001 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 5,032 2,924 1,283 593 232
			 March 2002 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,749 2,266 1,165 778 405 135   
			 March 2002 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 4,883 2,532 1,303 692 356
			 March 2003 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust 4,595 2,219 1,223 761 392
			 March 2003 Blackburn Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust 3,968 2,375 1,078 432 83
			 February-2004 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 8,451 4,864 2,354 960 273
		
	
	Notes:
	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was formed on 1 April 2003 from the merger of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Healthcare and the acute services of Burnley Healthcare. The Mental Illness and Old Age Psychiatry services of Burnley Healthcare transferred to Lancashire Care NHS Trust on 1 April 2002.
	Source:
	DH form KH07 and Monthly Monitoring

NHS Admissions (Preston)

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the levels of elective admissions to the NHS in Preston in the past five years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally on a constituency basis. Information relating to national health service organisations serving the Preston area is shown in the table.
	
		Patients waiting for elective in-patient admission
		
			Patients waiting for admission by months waiting 
			 Month-end NHS Trust Total number of patients Less than 3 months 35 months 68 months 911 months 1214 months 1517 months 18+ months 
		
		
			 March 1997 Chorley and South Kibble NHS Trust 1,857 1,079 463 249 66
			 March 1997 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 8,970 4,137 2,352 1,445 1,000 18 15 3 
			 March 1998 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 2,121 1,299 537 183 102
			 March 1998 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 8,500 4,079 1,969 1,334 787 257 74  
			 March 1999 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 2,051 1,126 527 248 132 17 1  
			 March 1999 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 7,602 4,154 1,729 1,043 544 132   
			 March 2000 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 1,967 1,228 453 186 90 10   
			 March 2000 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 7,025 4,110 1,701 853 359 2   
			 March 2001 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 8,926 5,559 1,987 1,002 378
			 March 2002 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 8,891 5,565 2,055 995 276
			 March 2003 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 8,445 5,473 2,096 711 165
			 February 2004 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 8,657 5,642 2,224 791 
		
	
	Note:
	Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was established 1 August 2002 from the acute services of Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. For 2001 and 2002, data for both trusts was reported under Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
	Source:
	DH form KH07 and Monthly Monitoring

Nursing Vacancies

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many three month vacancies there are for nursing posts in each (a) NHS trust and (b) primary care trust in the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority area; and what the three month vacancy rate is in each case.

Rosie Winterton: A breakdown of the number of three month vacancies for nursing posts and three month vacancy rates for each national health service trust and primary care trust in the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority area has been placed in the Library.

Official Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of official vehicles used by his Department are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows a breakdown of the Department's vehicle fleet in 200304 by vehicle category and fuel type.
	
		
			 Cars Number Percentage 
		
		
			 200304   
			 Petrol 42 49 
			 Diesel 41 48 
			 Liquid petroleum gas 3 3 
			 Natural gas 0 0 
			 Total 86 100

Organ Donation

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies indicate that successful lung transplants can be achieved from non-heart beating donors; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Lungs have already been successfully transplanted from non-heart beating donors in Sweden, Spain, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Research has shown that non-heart beating donors may prove to be a very good source of lungs for transplantation and should lead to further successful non-heart beating donor transplants in the future.

Patients Forums

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what consultations took place on the capping of Patient Forum membership at an average of 10 per forum; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the capping of Patient Forum membership at an average of 10 per forum.

Rosie Winterton: The initial phase of recruitment of forum members in the three months to 1 December 2003 provided each of the 571 forums with their statutory minimum of seven members. The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) calculated that membership could increase to an average of 10 per forum within its existing budget and continued to recruit volunteers with this target in mind.
	Increasing forum membership was raised as a key issue at a series of 31 regional meetings in May 2004, attended by around 1,200 forum members. In particular, forums which covered a large geographical area, for example, ambulance and mental health trusts and specialist and national hospitals, felt they needed flexibility to recruit more than 10 members.
	The CPPIH has responded by announcing that it will agree individual recruitment plans with forums for an appropriate and affordable level of membership, which could move towards 15 over time.

Positron Emission Tomography Scanners

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of positron emission tomography scanners per head of the population in (a) England and (b) other European Union countries;
	(2)  if he will publish a national service framework on the provision of positron emission tomography scanners.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 21 May 2004
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

Prescription Drugs

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned into prescription drug addiction; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people in the United Kingdom he estimates are addicted to prescription drugs.

Rosie Winterton: Prescription medicines that are recognised to have the potential for dependence include benzodiazepines, synthetic opioids, amphetamines and barbiturates. At the time of licensing, the available data on the potential for abuse and dependence of drugs within these classes are carefully considered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Committee on Safety of Medicines. The product information for these medicines contains clear warnings about the potential for dependence and where appropriate restrictions on the licensed indications and the duration of treatment are specified in order to reduce this risk.
	Information for prescribers on benzodiazepines and opiates has been disseminated via the Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance bulletin and/or the CMO Update, and is also available in the British National Formulary distributed to doctors and pharmacists.
	The use of benzodiazepines is the area where the greatest amount of research has been conducted. This includes a large project, costing more than 1 million, currently being conducted by the Medical Research Council into dependence in association with benzodiazepines.
	Information is not available on the number of people addicted to prescription drugs in the United Kingdom.

Skin Care Campaigns

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on campaigns on (a) skin cancer and (b) other skin damage, induced by sunlight in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: We have invested the following on sun awareness campaigns.
	
		
			   
		
		
			 19992000 543,000 
			 200001 50,000 
			 200102 126,000 
			 200203 140,000 
		
	
	Annual figures on expenditure of sun awareness campaigns undertaken by the health education authority are not available between 199697 and 199899.
	Funding of approximately 400,000 over the next three years has been approved for Cancer Research UK to run its SunSmart sun awareness campaign on behalf of the United Kingdom health departments, following the successful launch of SunSmart last year.

Waiting Lists/Times

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to conduct an audit of the two week wait rule of suspected cancer referrals.

Melanie Johnson: A two week outpatient waiting time standard was introduced for all urgent referrals of suspected cancer during 2000. The Department has no plans to carry out an audit of the two week wait but all trusts have been encouraged to undertake local audit to assess the impact of the two week wait on local services and to enable the appropriateness of urgent and routine referrals against the guidelines to be fed back to referring general practitioners. The Department has commissioned the University of York, in 2003, to undertake a systematic review of two week wait audits carried out by professional bodies, trusts and cancer networks.
	The latest results of the quarterly monitoring show that 98 per cent. of all urgent referrals for suspected cancer were seen within two weeks.

TREASURY

Fuel Price Rise

Simon Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the total revenue raised by means of VAT is for each penny per litre rise in the price of (a) petrol and (b) diesel;
	(2)  how much revenue he expects to raise by means of the proposed increase in fuel duty in September in the (a) 2004-05 and (b) 200506 financial year.

John Healey: Customs and Excise do not collect data on VAT raised from individual goods or services. Estimates of the impact on revenues of road fuel duty rates and VAT rate changes were published in the Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs alongside the 2003 pre-Budget report, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	Revenue estimates for all taxes and duties can be found in Table A1 of this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 301).

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

National Audit Office

Edward Leigh: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission whether the Commission has reached a decision on the external audit arrangements for the National Audit Office.

Alan Williams: In exercise of its powers under section 4(5) of the National Audit Act 1983, the Commission has approved the renewal for a further two years of the appointment of Haines Watts as auditors of the National Audit Office. This arrangement covers the audits of the financial years 200405 and 200506.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Serbia and Montenegro

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is giving to refugees and internally displaced persons in Serbia and Montenegro.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: My department is working with the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro to strengthen their capacity to deal effectively with the needs of refugees and Internally Displaced People. We are supporting the comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy, which explicitly addresses the needs of IDPs. In Kosovo we are working to create an environment that makes it easier for IDPs to return, strengthening essential public services and promoting growth and job creation.

Montserrat

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of current development priorities for Montserrat.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: We are working with the island government, to help generate local revenue and entourage private sector investment. (A new airport, for example, will be completed later this year.) Ultimately we want to enable the island to be self-sufficient, an ambition of the island government too.
	I hope to discuss progress when I visit the island next week.

Sudan

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department is contributing to relief aid in Sudan.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in Darfur, Western Sudan, is of grave concern. The UK has been a lead donor in the response to this crisis. We have allocated 34.5 million in humanitarian aid, as well as a 2 million contribution to the African Union Monitoring Mission for the region (through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool).

HIV/AIDS

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to publish his Department's strategy for HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The strategy will be published shortly.

Development Aid

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had on increasing the UK's overseas development assistance to 0.7 per cent. of gross national income by 2008.

Hilary Benn: Funding of official development assistance up to 200708 will be decided as part of the current spending review, on which discussions between DFID and the Treasury are continuing.

West Africa

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on progress towards the millennium development goals in west Africa.

Hilary Benn: DFID closely monitors progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in those countriesSierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, The Gambiawhere we have programmes of direct development assistance. These show that progress is disappointing on many of the MDGs. There are particular challenges on child and maternal mortality and HIV/AIDs. We are working with partner Governments and other donors on how to respond.
	Information on the MDGs can be found on the UN website www.millenniumindicators.un.org.

British Virgin Islands

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make an official visit to the British Virgin Islands to discuss the impact of EU directives.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: There are no plans for a DFID Ministerial visit to the British Virgin Islands. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Her Majesty's Treasury have regular contacts with territory representatives on issues of mutual interest, including the impact of EU directives.

South America

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what UK development aid has been allocated to (a) Ecuador, (b) Peru and (c) Bolivia for financial year 200405.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has allocated 2.4million to Peru and 4.9million to Bolivia in 200405 as direct bilateral assistance. There is no allocation for Ecuador.
	DFID also provides assistance through its support to UK non-governmental organisations working in the region through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Partnership Programme Agreements. In addition, DFID also spends about 170 million a year in these countries through its indirect share of multilateral concessional expenditure.

South Asia

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made towards achieving universal primary education in south Asia.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Some progress towards universal primary education is being made in south Asia but this needs to be accelerated. In Bangladesh and India gross primary enrolment rates are above 100 per cent. but this is partly due to children repeating grades and the enrolment of under and over-age children. Erratic data for Pakistan make it difficult to judge overall progress. More information is available in DFIDs Departmental report for 2004.

Departmental Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The cost of the DFID website (www.dfid.gov.uk) for the period March 2003 to February 2004 was 36,709. Staffing costs for the team of four who manage it were 111,249.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

Hilary Benn: In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These contain information reaching back to 199506. Information for earlier years and for the means of travel could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 200304 will be published in due course
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the travel costs incurred (a) by his Department and (b) by each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years.

Hilary Benn: Figures for travel costs within administration costs budgets for years for which information is readily available are as follows. Travel costs for 200304 are currently being collated. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in DFID's staff handbook.
	
		
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 200102 2,358,000 
			 200203 2,645,000 
		
	
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the costs of Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 199596. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate costs and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 200304 will be published in due course. For UK travel by Ministers, information is not available centrally for the last 10 years and to collate this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	All Ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

UNESCO

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on maintaining a British ambassador to UNESCO in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: The figures in pound sterling are as follows:
	
		
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1997 30,063 
			 1998 190,773 
			 1999 118,175 
			 2000 120,626 
			 2001 124,695 
			 2002 128,853 
			 2003 115,732 
			 2004 58,575

UNESCO

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what formal consultations the British ambassador to UNESCO has held with leading British museums, libraries and galleries in relation to the formation of international cultural policy in the last 12 months.

Hilary Benn: The current British Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been in post for six months. During that time his main efforts have concentrated on re-establishing the UK National Commission for UNESCO which will have a role in advising Government on international cultural policy. The Commission will have representations from links with a wide cross-section of civil society, including museums, libraries and galleries. A temporary national committee has now been set up. The Ambassador has had discussions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on international cultural policy, and informal discussions with a number of representatives of museums including on specific issues such as help for developing countries' heritage work.

UNESCO

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what instructions he has issued to the British Ambassador to UNESCO in relation to the position of the United States Administration on the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Hilary Benn: None. It is a matter for individual sovereign states to decide whether they will become a party to an international agreement. The Minister for Heritage, Lord Mclntosh, announced on 14 May the UK's intention to ratify the Hague Convention.

Working Time Directive

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: (a) None, (b) None. It is DFID's policy to discourage the regular working of long hours. There will always be occasions when, for example, emergency situations or parliamentary demands will mean that long hours may be required as a short-term response, but DFID guidance to managers emphasises that regular long hour working must never be ignored or overlooked and that DFID has a duty to ensure the health and safety of our staff.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax Benefit (Stroud)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out the level of council tax benefit for the Stroud district council area for each of the last three years.

Chris Pond: Council tax benefit is an income related benefit and is paid according to the financial circumstances of the person claiming it. Therefore, there is not a single set level of council tax benefit. The average weekly amount of council tax benefit in the Stroud local authority area is in the table.
	
		Average weekly council tax benefit in Stroud local authority area
		
			 As at August  
		
		
			 2001 10.37 
			 2002 11.39 
			 2003 13.14 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2. The average amounts have been rounded to the nearest penny.
	3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Attendance Allowance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many attendance allowance claims in Scotland (a) were subject to appeal between February 2002 and February 2003, broken down by (i) disability benefit centre and (ii) quarter and (b) have been subject to appeal since February 2003, broken down by month.

Chris Pond: The information requested is set out in the tables.
	
		Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at the Appeals Service (tAS) by office, for February 200203
		
			 Originating office Number of received appeals at tAS 
		
		
			 Edinburgh DBC 390 
			 Glasgow DBC 890 
			 Disability Benefits Unit 85 
			 Total 1,365 
		
	
	
		Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at tAS by office and quarter, for February 200203
		
			  Quarter 1(Marchay 2002) Quarter 2(Juneugust 2002) 
			 Originating office Appeals AA claims (Thousand) Appeals/claims (Percentage) Appeals AA claims (Thousand) Appeals/claims (Percentage) 
		
		
			 Edinburgh DBC 120 56.8 0.2 110 57.4 0.2 
			 Glasgow DBC 230 48.0 0.5 190 48.6 0.4 
			 Disability Benefits Unit 30   35   
			 Total 380 104.8  335 106.0  
		
	
	
		
			  Quarter 3(SeptemberNovember 2002) Quarter 4(December 2002ebruary 2003) 
			 Originating office Appeals AA claims (Thousand) Appeals/claims (Percentage) Appeals AA claims (Thousand) Appeals/claims (Percentage) 
		
		
			 Edinburgh DBC 80 58.8 0.1 35 58.8 0.1 
			 Glasgow DBC 180 50.4 0.4 190 50.9 0.4 
			 Disability Benefits Unit 10   15   
			 Total 270 109.2  240 109.7  
		
	
	Note:
	In the above period the Disability Benefits Unit processed the specified number of appeals on behalf of claims originating in Scotland.
	
		Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at tAS by month, from February 2003 to April 2004
		
			 Month Number 
		
		
			 February 2003 70 
			 March 2003 75 
			 April 2003 60 
			 May 2003 55 
			 June 2003 140 
			 July 2003 95 
			 August 2003 90 
			 September 2003 100 
			 October 2003 115 
			 November 2003 120 
			 December 2003 90 
			 January 2004 115 
			 February 2004 100 
			 March 2004 105 
			 April 2004 60 
			 Total 1,390 
		
	
	Source:
	IAD information centre. 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.

Carers

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of increasing carers' allowance to the level of the full basic state pension; and what assessment he has made of the consequent effect upon payments of means-tested benefits.

Maria Eagle: The gross cost of increasing carer's allowance from its current rate of 44.35 per week to the level of the full basic state pension (79.60 per week) would be around 770 million in 200405. After allowing for offsets in means-tested benefits the cost would be around 370 million. Some of those who would benefit would see their increased CA payment fully eroded by reduced income support.
	Notes:
	1. Estimates use benefit rates for 200405 and are based on a 100 per cent. extract of CA claims on the CA computer system for May 2003, a 5 per cent. extract from the claims on the IS computer system in 2003 and a 1 per cent. extract of the housing benefit/council tax benefit claims of May 2001.
	2. The estimates do not take account of any potential behavioural changes that may result from increasing the rate of CA.

Carers

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of working age carers in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland are credited with Class 1 national insurance contributions in respect of their caring commitments.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the form requested. In 200304, a total of 520,000 working age carers in the UK who were entitled to carer's allowance, were also given Nl credits for periods ranging from one week to a full year.
	Separate figures are not available for Scotland.
	Other carers entitled to CA may receive credits because they are in receipt of benefits such as incapacity benefit or jobseeker's allowance. Women who have elected to pay married women's reduced rate contributions would not receive credits.

Carers

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of payments for all carers.

Chris Pond: The needs of carers are diverse and the support they need is not always financial. As well as having access to the full range of social security benefits and tax credits, depending on their individual circumstances, carers also have access to a wide range of support services available through local authorities and health authorities, which take account of local factors.
	Carer's allowance provides a measure of income maintenance to those carers who are spending substantial amounts of time caring for a severely disabled person, and are over pension age or unable to undertake full-time work. The Government are satisfied that targeting help in this way represents the best use of resources.

Disability Living Allowance

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual additional expenditure if the qualifying period for attendance allowance was reduced from six months to three months; how many successful claimants would be affected per year; what the annual cost would be of extending entitlement to the (a) mobility component and (b) the lowest rate care component of disability living allowance to people who claim after the age of 65; how many people would gain a mobility component; how many people would gain the lowest rate care component; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The requested information is not available. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance or to a component of disability living allowance can only be established when a claim is made and the actual needs of the individual are assessed. There are no reliable data available on which estimates could be made of the effects of changing the qualifying period for Attendance allowance or of the number of people aged 65 and over who might be entitled to either the mobility component or the lowest rate care component of disability living allowance if they were to make a claim.

Smoking-Related Conditions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed invalidity benefit as a result of a smoking-related condition in each year since 1997.

Chris Pond: The information is not available. Incapacity benefit is awarded on the basis of the functional effects of disabling conditions, regardless of their cause or of any contributory factors such as smoking. Information about incapacity benefit claimants' smoking habits is not routinely recorded.

Specialised Disability Fund

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many grants and how much grant was given to people aged (a) under 65 years and (b) 65 years and over from the Specialised Disability Fund in the last 12 months; and what plans he has to enable people disabled after the age of 65 years to receive money under the fund.

Chris Pond: There is no Specialised Disability Fund. However, the Department for Work and Pensions sponsors the Specialised Vehicles Funds and the Independent Living Funds.
	The charity Motability administers the Specialised Vehicles Funds on behalf of the Department. The funds provide grants towards the cost of specially adapted vehicles for disabled people who are eligible to apply to the Motability Scheme. The information requested is in Table 1.
	The two Independent Living Funds make cash payments directly to severely disabled people for the purchase of personal assistance or help with domestic duties to enable them to continue to live in the community. The Extension Fund is a closed fund. However, the 1993 Fund, which applies to all new claims made since April 1993, makes payments to people aged 65 or under at the date of claim. The information requested is in Table 2.
	There are no plans to extend any of the funds beyond their current provision.
	
		Table 1: Specialised Vehicles Funds1 June 2003 to 31 May 2004
		
			  Number of grants Total amount of grants(21)( million) 
		
		
			 Aged under 65 years 1,075 7.6 
			 Aged 65 years and over 75 0.4 
		
	
	(21) Rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	
		Table 2: Independent Living Funds1 June 2003 to 31 May 2004
		
			  Number of clients receiving grants Total amount of grants(22)( million) 
		
		
			 Aged under 65 years 14,883 173 
			 Aged 65 years and over(23) 1,585 16 
		
	
	(22) Rounded to the nearest  million.
	(23) Over age 65 calculated as at date of payment.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Secondments

Bob Spink: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff in the Department and its agencies were seconded from the (a) private and (b) academic sector in each of the last three years.

David Lammy: No staff were seconded to this Department from either the private or academic sector in the 200001 or 200203 financial years. Five staff were seconded from the private sector during the period April 2001 to March 2002.
	Figures for 200304 are not yet available.

Domestic Violence Courts

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of specialist domestic violence courts.

Christopher Leslie: My Department and the Crown Prosecution Service commissioned an evaluation of five specialist magistrates courts operating in Cardiff, Derby, Leeds, West London and Wolverhampton. The results of the evaluation were presented at a national conference in London, on 22 March 2004.
	The findings of the research indicated that a specialist listing or fast-track system for domestic violence cases, which included effective support for victims, had notable and positive benefits. The Government are considering how to encourage more magistrates' courts to develop specialist domestic violence sittings. This could provide not only an improved service to court users, especially victims, but could also improve outcomes for criminal justice targets by narrowing the justice gap and improving victims' confidence in the criminal justice courts system.
	A copy of the research report will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
	My Department has also set up a National Implementation Project Board to take forward the idea of developing Integrated Domestic Violence Courts which would hear both civil and criminal aspects of domestic violence cases.

Electoral Malpractice

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the possibility of people who are registered in two electoral districts because they own two homes being able to exercise two votes in the European parliamentary elections and remain undetected.

Christopher Leslie: Although it is possible for certain persons to appear on two electoral registers and consequently to receive ballot papers for two different locations, it is an offence for a person to vote twice in European Parliamentary elections anywhere in Europe. Any offence, if successfully prosecuted, could result in a fine of up to 5,000. Member states exchange information about electors registered in more than one state, with the aim of preventing double voting. There has been no detailed assessment of the extent of this area of fraud but in response to the Electoral Commission's review of registration, the majority of Electoral Registration Officers reported no experience of such fraud.

Electoral Malpractice

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many individuals are registered to vote in more than one electoral district.

Christopher Leslie: This information is not collected.

Justices of the Peace (London)

Tom Cox: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appointments of Justices of the Peace for the Greater London area have been (a) men and (b) women in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The information is as follows:
	In 200001 there were 87 men and 107 women appointed.
	In 200102 there were 80 men and 81 women appointed.
	In 200203 there were 68 men and 73 women appointed.
	The figures for 200304 are not yet available.

Magistrates (Retirement)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what his policy is on the compulsory retirement of magistrates; and what plans he has to raise the retirement age.

Christopher Leslie: The retirement age of 70 for magistrates is statutory, as specified in the Justices of the Peace Act 1997. A general retirement age of 70 for judicial office holders was decided upon in the early 1990's when, after wide consultation, the then Government concluded that a retirement age of 70 was appropriate to modern conditions and this was reflected in new legislation.
	There are currently no plans to increase the retirement age of judicial office holders, but we are looking at the position in the context of that part of the European Employment Directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation on age discrimination, which comes into force in October 2006.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) the Department and its predecessors and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much the Department and its predecessor spent on ministerial travel by (a) car, (b) train, (c) aeroplane and (d) helicopter, in each of the last 10 years;.
	(3)  how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department and its predecessors in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

David Lammy: The information is as follows:
	(1) (a) Total travel costs for my Department, which covers costs for the Court Service, the Public Guardianship Office and DCA Headquarters was as per the table as follows:
	
		
			 Period Amount () 
		
		
			 200405 (To 31 May) 726,579 
			 200304 5,913,187 
			 200203 5,035,694 
			 200102 4,522,177 
			 200001 4,169,902 
			 19992000 4,237,897 
			 199899 3,506,760 
		
	
	(1) (b) it is not possible to list the travel costs of each Minister within my Department without incurring disproportionate cost. However, aggregate travel and subsistency costs for the Private Offices, which covers costs for Ministers and Officials was as per the table:
	
		
			 Period Amount () 
		
		
			 200405 (To 31 May) 11,280 
			 200304 64,891 
			 200203 83,051 
			 200102 60,220 
			 200001 98,592 
			 19992000 59,823 
			 199899 40.192 
		
	
	Information on previous years is not readily available.
	(2) (a) My hon. Friend the Minister of the Cabinet office has asked Nick Matheson, Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency to write to the hon. Member with details of the cost of ministerial vehicles provided to this Department.
	(2) (b) (c) and (d) it is not possible for my Department to provide the full detailed information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.
	(3) My Department's records cannot provide a definite, exact answer, without incurring disproportionate cost.
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 199506. Information for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 200304 will be published in due course.
	My Department has published rules for official travel in its staff handbook and Ministerial travel is governed by the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Working Time Directive

Bill Tynan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many employees in the Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available.

David Lammy: Managers in my Department are required to obtain a written agreement if an employee chooses to work more than the 48 hour average weekly limit. This information is held locally and is not readily available. I will write to the hon. member as soon as the information is available. There are currently no staff employed who are exempt from the Working Time Directive. Working hours, including those accruing on a flexitime basis, are monitored by line managers locally and no central figures are available. Managers are instructed to monitor hours closely if staff work close to or over 48 hours per week to ensure compliance with the Regulations. The Department is fully committed to reducing the number of employees required to work in excess of 48 hours per week commensurate with operational needs. It does so by adjusting working hours and redesigning jobs in order to keep such posts to an absolute minimum and the policy is kept under regular review.